Star Trek: Helen
by Ruin Queen of Oblivion
Summary: Follow the adventures of the USS Helen in the Triangulum Galaxy on their journey to get back home to Federation space. Read as it all begins in season 1.
1. A Long Way

_I've decided to start running this fanfic alongside Star Trek: Constance, it takes place a few years after where we currently are in the fanfic, so things are happening that will happen in Constance, but not just yet._

_So, without further ado, let's get this started._

**00000**

**PROLOGUE:**

**WHERE ARE WE?**

**00000**

The bridge of the ship is badly damaged, looking like it had just gone through a fight as the crew scrambles around, trying to ascertain what happened. The captain, a woman with short white hair and pointed ears groans as she struggles to get to her feet.

"Captain Selva, you shouldn't be moving," a medical officer says, running a medical scanner over a cut on the captain's forehead.

"I'm fine, ensign," Selva says, struggling to get out of the captain's chair. "Commander Eroi, what happened?"

Commander Jaie Eroi, a female Joined Trill answers. "Captain, we managed to make it to the other end of the wormhole, but it was unstable on this end," she says.

"Another stable wormhole Starfleet said, I knew it was too good to be true," Selva says, and then snaps at the medical officer. "Ensign, I'll be fine, go find someone else."

"Captain, I know you Athenans are made of strong stuff, but we have to have your head looked at," the Ensign says, and finally closes the tricorder. "You're fine," he says, and heads off.

"Any idea of where we were dropped off?" Selva asks, directing the question at the Bajoran lieutenant Drash Elia at the helm.

"I'm sorry captain, astrometrics is still down," Elia says worried, but speaks up again a second later. "Information coming in, Captain, this can't be right. Lieutenant Weok, confirm my readings."

"On it," the Bolian science officer says. "Confirmed, captain, according to these readings, we've been transported several million light years. Captain, we are on the far edge of the Triangulum galaxy."

"You're kidding," Selva says, but deep down she knew that they weren't. "Commander Eroi, go and find Commander Tagai. I need to find my daughter."

"Yes ma'am," Jaie says, as the two enter the turbolift.

"Lieutenant Hernandez, you have the bridge," Selva says.

**00000**

**000000000**

**STAR TREK:**

**HELEN**

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**A STAR TREK FANFIC BY**

**RUIN QUEEN OF OBLIVION**

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**SEASON 1:**

**VOYAGES**

**000000000**

**CHAPTER 1:**

**A LONG WAY**

**000000000**

"_We may be a long way from home; it may take 300 years to get back to the Federation._

_But we will not give up so easily, even if it takes that long, we will survive."_

**000000000**

**00000**

"There she is, Captain Selva, the USS _Helen,_" Elia says to Selva, it was only a few hours before the ship was sent through the wormhole. The Athenan captain is looking through the shuttle's viewscreen up at a long ship with a relatively narrow saucer section, and two long nacelles on top, and a third below. "NCC-97081, _Newton_-class ship, one of the first of her kind, she's built for long range science missions."

"Amazing," Selva says, picking up an Athenan girl about 6 years old so she can see the ship. "Look there Kaiya, that's our new home."

"Is that your ship, mommy?" Kaiya asks.

"That's right, she's my ship," Selva says.

"Kada was right; she is an inquisitive little girl, isn't she?" Elia says with a laugh.

"Lieutenant, have you, heard anything new about your sister?" Selva asks, and Elia shakes her head.

"No, I'm afraid not," Elia says, looking worried. "It's been 6 months since the _Constance _went missing, I'm starting to get worried about Kada."

"Will they ever find auntie Kada?" Kaiya asks.

"I hope so," Selva says, as Elia pulls the shuttle into the _Helen_'s docking bay.

**00000**

"Captain on deck," Commander Eroi, the blonde-haired trill says, standing up out of the captain's chair. "Captain, we're just waiting to receive our orders from Starfleet Command."

"They sent them to me while I was on the shuttle," Selva says, sitting down and taking out a PADD. "Starfleet has picked up what appears to be a stable wormhole in the Estari system, the only concern is that it borders on Romulan territory, and is frequented by Hirogen hunting squads."

"In other words, its par for the course for Starfleet," the second officer Lt. Commander Waseri Tagai, a young Elaysian woman with long brown hair says, as she was more suited to a low gravity environment, she communicated through a holographic system that projected her image throughout the ship. "It's strange; I thought only the Bajoran wormhole was stable because it was artificially created."

"Well, apparently not," Selva says.

"So, where does this new wormhole lead?" Weok asks.

"Starfleet says that it leads to the Andromeda Galaxy," Selva says, which surprises the crew, that was farther away than any Starfleet vessel had gone. "Our mission is to explore as much as we can of the galaxy, and report back to Starfleet."

"So, it's a glorified survey mission," the tactical officer Lieutenant Eric Hernandez, a human man in his 40's says, not looking too thrilled. "It's not exactly a thrilling shakedown cruise."

"Well, it's our mission, we have to accept it," Selva says, and nods to Elia who has taken her seat. "Lieutenant Drash, set a course bearing 235, mark 2, at warp 7."

"Setting course," Elia says, as the _Helen_ jumps to warp.

**00000**

"Captain, we're entering the Estari system," Elia says as the ship finally reaches its destination.

"Drop out of warp," Selva says; as the ship drops out of warp, in the distance they can see the imposing form of a massive gas giant.

"Captain, picking up the wormhole now," Weok says, as the wormhole opens up in front of them. "Readings are stable, there doesn't appear to be any discrepancies in the readings we are picking up, and the one's you brought back from Starfleet."

"Captain, with all due respect, our ship would be better suited on the front lines against the Klingons or the Shaarot, not on some glorified survey mission."

"Lieutenant, we are out where because we are fulfilling the mission of Starfleet, to explore new worlds and civilizations," Selva says.

"Captain, wait, we're picking something up on sensors," Hernandez says, and slams his fist down on the tactical display. "Captain, it's a Shaarot warship, Korsi-class, they've spotted us and are heading our way."

"The Shaarot, what are they doing here?" Selva says, cursing under her breath in her native tongue. "I thought we were far away from the Central Sphere, how did they pick us up?"

"Detecting structures surrounding the star…" Waseri says, and groans. "It's a Dyson Web, abandoned or automated by the looks of it. I think the ship was here for repairs after the battle at Tewar V, we're just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Lieutenant, set a course into the wormhole," Selva says, getting a look from Elia.

"Captain, are you sure…" Elia says.

"At this point, we don't have much of a choice," Selva says, as the _Helen_ begins to move again.

"They're firing a torpedo!" Eric shouts as the _Helen_ enters the wormhole, just after the torpedo makes contact with the event horizon.

**00000**

"Captain, I'm getting unusual readings from the wormhole," Weok says, the Bolian seems to be panicking. "Captain, that torpedo must have missed us and destabilized the wormhole, there's no telling where we're going to end up!"

"Maintain heading," Selva says, gripping the armrests of her chair.

"Captain, is that wise?" Waseri says, and then a beeping sound is heard from his console. "Captain, I'm picking up a massive wave of energy heading our way from the Milky Way side of the wormhole."

"Can we outrun it?" Selva asks, but she was already afraid she knew the answer.

"No, we can't," Waseri answers somberly.

"Lieutenant Drash, turn the ship so our port side is facing the wave, divert all possible power to the shields," Selva orders, as the ship begins to turn.

"Captain, what is your plan?" Elia asks as she inputs the commands.

"We're going to ride that wave to the other side," Selva answers, and the rest of the senior staff look at her shocked. "'He who dares wins,' and I say we have to dare to survive."

The _Helen _is picked up by the wave, and is propelled along the wormhole's corridor towards destiny. You know what happened next.

**00000**

"Commander Tagai, are you okay?" Jaie asks, entering the quarters for the second officer, who is currently sprawled out on the ground. "What happened?"

"When we made it through the wormhole, the result of the wave knocked out my gravity controls," Waseri says, struggling to get back up, Jaie manages to get the gravity controls back to the way they where, giving her a sense of weightlessness. "Thank you, sorry, what happened to the ship?"

"We got blown off course by the wave, way off course," Jaie says, floating up, she's a little nervous though. "We're currently in the Triangulum Galaxy."

"Triangulum, I'd say that's pretty far off course, what happened?" Waseri asks.

"We're not sure, but as far as we can tell, when the Shaarot's Transphasic torpedo hit the wormhole, it destabilized it," Jaie says. "In essence, the wormhole is gone, and we are stranded here."

"Ugh, now I know how the crew of the _Voyager_ must have felt," Waseri says, shaking her head. "Any idea of how we're going to get home?"

"Probably not the way _Voyager _did," Jaie says. "The Transwarp network won't work this far away from Federation space."

"I hate to point out the obvious, but doesn't this mean that we're going to take 300 years just to get back home?" Waseri asks.

"Give or take a decade," Jaie says.

"Well, that's just great," Waseri says.

"Well, look at it this way, we'll be the first Federation ship out here," Jaie says. "If we ever get back home that is."

**00000**

"She'll be fine, Captain," the ship's chief medical officer, an Orion that had left the syndicate to enter Starfleet says, using her medical tricorder to check on Kaiya, who Selva had brought to sick bay. "Just a few scrapes here and there."

"Thank you doctor Tannis," Selva says, and the Orion smiles as Selva pick up her daughter.

"Well, compared to some of the other patients I've received, she's lucky," Tannis says. "Here Kaiya, I've got something for you."

"Really, what is it?" Kaiya asks, looking up at the Orion female as she pulls out a lollypop.

"I believe human doctors used to give these to their young patients, enjoy," Tannis says, and Kaiya giggles. "Captain, before you go, I need to speak with you."

"All right, Kaiya I'll see you in a minute," Selva says, putting Kaiya down, and she heads out of the sick bay. "What do you need to talk to me about?"

"Captain, it's about the crew," Tannis says, brushing her green hair back. "They're getting uneasy, rumors are already spreading that we're in another galaxy, and unable to get back home."

"We're not ready to tell them yet, but yes, that is the case," Selva says, shaking her head. "We need to keep morale on this ship high, or we won't be able to last long here if there is uncertainty among the crew. I will make the announcement myself."

"Yes Captain, I'll keep my mouth shut," Tannis says.

**00000**

An hour later, the crew was still in the dark about the situation, and the senior staff was meeting in the observation lounge.

"Commander Togri, what's our situation?" Selva asks, directing the question towards the Andorian Chief Engineer.

"It's not good," Togri answers, shaking his head. "Our supply of Dilithium is running low, if we don't restock soon; we're not going to be able to travel much further."

"Ensign Weok, is there any M class planets within range of a runabout that we might be able to get Dilithium from?" Selva asks.

"It's not looking good," Weok admits. "We may have found one however; it seems to be a center for trade. But we know very little about this area, we don't know what they trade with or anything."

"We're going to have to take that risk, Commander Eroi; I want you to take Dr. Tannis, and Lieutenants Hernandez and Drash to the planet on the _Rainier_."

"Yes captain," Jaie says, nodding to the two other members of the away team that had been designated.

"Commander Togri, your priority is getting the Holographic Matrix back up and running, we can't go anywhere without our second officer," Selva adds.

"_Thank you captain, this is getting rather tedious,"_ Waseri says she had to use the screen, which wasn't her favorite method of communication.

"I'll get right to work on it," Togri says.

"Well, if that is all, dismissed," Selva says.

"Captain, I think it's about time we told the crew," Jaie says.

"You're right," Selva says with a nod, she didn't like having to do this though.

**00000**

Sitting down in the captain's chair, Selva presses a button, giving the order for a ship-wide announcement. "This is the captain speaking, I know you've all heard the rumors, and I wish I was here to put them to rest," she says. "I am here to tell you the truth, the wormhole we entered interacted with a Shaarot Transphasic Torpedo, causing it to destabilize. As a result, we have traveled further than we had anticipated; we are currently on the far edge of the Triangulum Galaxy, at warp 9.9 it will take us 300 years to get back home. The wormhole has destabilized, and has been destroyed; we have no way to go but forward. We have a long journey ahead of us, my only regret is that we may never see our families again, but I swear I will do my best to get us home, before 300 years. We must not forget that no matter what has happened, we are still Starfleet, and that is something that we must never give up. Even as we face this great unknown, now we truly must boldly go where no one has gone before. I thank you for your time, and good luck, to all of you."

"Captain, that was, inspiring," Jaie says as Selva shuts down the communications array. "We'll come back with the Dilithium."

"I know you will," Selva says.

**00000**

The _Shasta _-class runabouts where a new class of runabout assigned to deep space stations and exploration ships like the _Helen_, used mostly for reconnaissance as an alternative to the shuttlecraft. The _Helen _had three runabouts, the _Rainier_, the _Toba,_ and the _Vesuvius_, all in their special hangars. Officially, the _Shasta_-class runabouts where on the _Helen _for an initial test run in deep space exploration.

"This is the runabout _Rainier_ to the _Helen_, we're ready to launch," Elia says, the Bajoran brushing her red hair back as she prepares to launch.

"_This is the _Helen_, you are cleared to launch,"_ the voice from the _Helen_'s chief in charge of the runabout pad says, as Elia pulls the runabout away from the _Helen_, and starts on course for the M class planet at warp 8.

"Why'd they have to make these new runabouts so cramped," Tannis groans, the Orion woman is pushed against a console in the back of the cockpit. The cockpit of the Shasta-class Runabouts curved around, it was supposed to be to maximize space, but it tended to be uncomfortable sometimes.

"Get used to it, Doctor, if anything happens to the _Helen,_ we might be stuck on this runabout for a very long time," Jaie says.

"Very reassuring," Tannis says. "And people say that my bedside manner is bad."

"The EMH Mark I had better bedside manner than you," Eric mutters under his breath.

"Children, behave, or I will turn this Runabout around," Elia says, half jokingly, as the two officers grumble.

"I don't see why I had to go on this," Eric says. "I don't see how a security officer will help on this mission."

"Considering the fact that we know nothing about the inhabitants, they might be hostile," Jaie says. "Besides, we're still working on getting a way to get Commander Tagai off of the ship without a wheelchair or a support unit; we'll need someone to fill her spot. Think of it as a temporary promotion."

"Yeah, yeah," Eric says.

"And if you all would stop talking, you might notice that we're there already," Elia says, as the image of a planet appears on the viewscreen ahead of them. "Okay, it looks like there are spacedock facilities surrounding the planet."

"Hail them," Jaie says.

"They are hailing us, ma'am," Elia says, and turns on the screen, showing the image of a male humanoid alien, he is bald, with yellowish skin and spots running across his head.

"_Askaf nooti, aklag Nadori space"_ he says, the universal translator doesn't appear to be fully translating the words.

"Drash, try to run the message through a translation program," Jaie says.

"_There is no need, my universal translator picks up new languages quickly,"_ the alien says. _"I am __Riconte, Rajeeck of the planet Toriag in the Nadorian Alliance; we welcome you to our planet."_

"Thank you very much, we where hoping to trade, do you have a material called Dilithium?" Jaie asks. "Or ship is stranded, and we are out of Dilithium."

"_I believe we may have what you are looking for," _Riconte says. _"You may dock your vessel and come down to my planet. My people will find your, Dilithium, and I would be honored if you would join me for dinner."_

"Very well, we will be there within the hour," Jaie says.

"_I await your arrival,"_ Riconte says, and bows slightly, shutting off the transmission.

"Well, that's a good start if anything," Tannis says.

"I don't know, he seemed too polite," Eric says.

"Lighten up, at least we're making friends," Elia says.

**00000**

Back on the _Helen_, Selva is sitting at her desk in the ready room, sighing she leans back, picking up a picture of her and Kaiya together, with a Bajoran girl with short pink hair. It had been taken just after she and Drash Kada, her roommate had graduated from the Academy, and Kada had been selected as the First Officer of the USS _Constance_, which was practically unheard of right out of the academy. Selva had been made a Lieutenant, and was assigned to the USS _Destiny_, a new prototype science vessel, Kada had been her best friend in the Academy, and she missed her dearly.

"_Captain, we're picking up more subspace transmissions,"_ a bridge officer says over Selva's communicator. _"Only thing about our crew is that they managed to arrive at the planet okay."_

"Finally some good news," Selva says.

"_Captain,"_ Waseri's voice says. _"I'm picking up a ship on long range sensors, its heading our way."_

"Can you recognize the classification, dumb question, I'm on my way," Selva says, and exits her ready room.

**00000**

"So, you come from the Milky Way Galaxy?" Riconte asks he had treated the _Helen_'s crewmembers to a feast, talking to them while they enjoyed it.

"Yes, it's a very long way away," Jaie says. "And the way we came is closed off, so we're trying to make our way home, it'll take at least 300 years."

"Not counting stops for supplies and the occasional exploration," Elia adds.

"As long as you are in the Nadorian Alliance, you are among friends," Riconte says. "My people have managed to find your, Dilithium and are loading it onto your, runabout did you call it?"

"Yes, it's a kind of ship that we started to use about 40 years ago," Jaie says. "The _Helen_ has three such Runabouts."

"She must have an amazing Captain, I would very much like to see your ship sometime," Riconte says.

"Well, we don't plan to stay here much longer, but we might be able to arrange something I guess," Jaie says. "I can't make any promises though."

"Commander, I would recommend not arranging tours of the _Helen_ until you clear it with Captain Selva," Eric says. "May I remind you that we still know very little about this area of space."

"Please, Commander Hernandez, there's no reason to be worried," Riconte says. "The Nadorian Alliance is all about preserving the peace. The only problem we ever seem to have is a group calling themselves the Sintaro."

"Sintaro, we're not familiar with that term," Jaie says, tilting her head, the word must be unique to the Nadori language or something.

"Sintaro means, undesirable, a lesser form of life in our language," Riconte says. "But recently its taken on another meaning, a thief who preys on ships for their goods."

"We have a word like that, we call them Pirates," Jaie says.

"Then, this is a problem where you come from?" Riconte asks.

"The majority of my species participates in piracy," Tannis says. "Its, not something I'm particularly proud of."

"Well, the Sintaro have been hitting us hard," Riconte says, shaking his head. "We have yet to find their main base of operations, and they continue to attack our supply ships. If you where to help us, then maybe we'd stand a fighting chance."

"I'm afraid not," Jaie says, shaking her head. "Starfleet has very specific rules, the Sintaro is an internal matter, and we cannot interfere, it is our greatest rule, the Prime Directive."

"Ah, well we can't have you breaking that rule now, can we?" Riconte says as they finish eating, a servant comes in and hands the Nadorian a datapad. "Ah, it looks like the transfer to your Runabout is complete, and perfect timing."

"Thank you," Jaie says, as they all stand up, Riconte bowing slightly. "I thank you for your help. Eroi to _Rainier, _lock onto our signals and beam us up," Jaie says, and the away team is beamed to the Runabout.

Riconte grins to himself, and sits back in his chair, he turns around and a screen opens up. "Send a transmission to Nadori, priority one message to High Toiel Kurmia," he says, and a minute later the image of a Nadorian woman appears. "I apologize, Toiel Kurmia."

"_This better be good, Riconte,"_ Kurmia says, folding her arms, looking angrily at Riconte. _"I have not forgiven you for your failure on Nasati, you're lucky to even be a Rajeeck."_

"Nasati is in the past, Toiel, but I bring great news," Riconte says. "I have entertained guests who claim to have come all the way, from the Milky Way Galaxy, their ship could be very, valuable to the Alliance."

**00000**

"Well, that went very well," Tannis says, the Orion leaning back in her chair, Eric was in the back examining the Dilithium Crystals. "Riconte seemed nice, at least we're making friends this early into our voyage."

"I don't think its that easy," Jaie says. "If there's one thing that living 5 lifetimes has told me, its that if something seems to good to be true, it usually is."

"Yeah, well I've lived one life, and I could have told you that," Elia says as the _Rainier_ jumps to warp. "We're coming within communications range of the _Helen_, hailing them."

The miniature viewscreen activates on the console, and Selva's face appears.

"_Commander, I'm glad to see you made it out of there in one piece,"_ Selva says, the Athenan Captain seems happy about something. _"I assume that you have some good news."_

"Yes, we've made some friends, they're called the Nadorians, they supplied us with Dilithium and a little bit of Antimatter, it should be enough to last awhile," Jaie says, and then Selva's face turns grim. "Captain, is something wrong?"

"_Commander, while you were gone, we made contact with a group known as the Sintaro,"_ Selva says grimly. _"And they warned us about the Nadorian Alliance, they are a deceitful and dangerous empire that acts friendly, and then stabs you in the back. Commander, your motives where pure, but you may have just drawn the wolf to our doorstep."_

Jaie is shocked, she had suspected that the Nadorians motives weren't that pure, but to have that suspicion confirmed still shocked her.

"Captain, we'll be there in 10 minutes," Jaie says, and shuts off the communicator.

**00000**

At the same time that Jaie and the others are dining with Riconte, Selva emerges onto the bridge of the _Helen._

"Put the ship on screen," Selva says, and the viewscreen switches to show the image of a sleek black ship, speeding towards the _Helen_ at full impulse. "Hail them."

"I've tried ma'am, no response," the security officer says. "Captain, they're powering up weapons!"

"Raise shields," Selva says, as the ship rocks being hit by phaser fire.

"Shields are holding captain, it was just a glancing blow," the security officer says, which puzzles Selva.

"They're expecting us to strike colors," Selva says, grinning a little.

"Strike colors ma'am?" The security officer asks, looking puzzled.

"Old Earth navy term, they're expecting us to surrender," Selva says. "Try hailing them again."

"No need Captain, they are hailing us," the security officer says.

"Put it on screen, Ensign," Selva says, and the image of a lanky alien with two long antennae appears, staring down at Selva. "I am Captain Selva of the Federation Starship _Helen_, why have you fired on us?"

"_My apologies Captain,"_ the other captain says. _"We believed you to be part of the Nadorian Alliance, I am Captain Iwari of the Sintaro raiding vessel _Octia_,I apologize for the mix up."_

"Its quite alright Captain," Selva says. "We haven't heard of this, Nadorian Alliance before, you might say we are new to the neighborhood."

"_Your ship's classification is like none we have ever seen, but we have to be cautious,"_ Iwari says. _"We have ways of knowing that you are not Nadorian, if you are truly new to this area of space, then we have some things that we should discuss."_

"All right, we'll meet on my ship whenever you are ready," Selva says.

"_Then, we will meet in 15 of your minutes,"_ Iwari says, and raises a thin hand, pressing it against his chest. _"May the Lords of Roji shine favorably on your journey,"_ he says, and cuts the transmission.

"Captain Selva to Commander Togri, how are things going?" Selva says.

"_We're about done here, the holographic matrix should be operational in a matter of minutes,"_ Togri says. _"Without supplies however, we're not going to have enough power to run it for very long, we need to get this warp drive up and running."_

"Great, well lets hope our new friends will be able to help us," Selva says. "Keep my appraised, I want to know the moment we have the holographic matrix back up and running."

"_Yes Captain,"_ Togri says.

**00000**

15 minutes later, Selva and the rest of her command staff that hadn't left are seated around the table in the observation lounge. They are joined by Captain Iwari, and a woman with greyish skin, four arms, and ridges running along her neck.

"My apologies for the earlier mix-up Captain Selva," Iwari says, he is tall, nearly 8 feet in height, and lanky with a long flexible neck that seems to move more like a snake's. "This is my First Officer, Commander Coira, I appreciate you allowing me onto your ship."

"It is an honor," Selva says. "We are a very long way from home, I'm glad that we could find friends so soon."

"I do have a question though, you don't appear to be of the same species, you called yourselves the Sintaro?" Waseri asks, her holographic matrix had been repaired, so she was once again capable of moving throughout the ship.

"Right, you are new here," Coira says. "The Sintaro are not a species, we are a coalition of many species, united under one cause, to defeat the Nadorian Alliance."

"What can you tell us about them?" Selva asks.

"They are a dangerous, conquering species," Iwari says. "My species has, telepathic abilities, but the Nadorians have long ago figured out ways to protect themselves from telepaths. We where forced to take them at their word, they promised us glory and prosperity, but in the end they robbed us blind, and conquered our planet. All across this quadrant, members of my species the Edari are being used as slaves, many of us ran away to join the Sintaro."

"The Sintaro are rebels then," Selva says. "Where we come from, we are not unfamiliar with such races. The Cardassians for example conquered the planet Bajor, and forced the Bajorans into labor, they formed a resistance movement much like you have."

"Somethings remain the same wherever you go I guess," Iwari says, and picks up a PADD. "And as for your request for supplies, I believe we can accommodate you. Our ships run on a different system than yours, so we do not require antimatter or Dilithium. However, the Nadorian's ships do run on such, and we have raided enough to get you at least 500 light years."

"And, you're just going to give it to us?" Togri asks.

"The Sintaro know that there is value in alliances, and I believe you show us no ill-will," Iwari says, folding his arms, and Selva starts to say something. "Captain, I do not have to read your mind to discover that, long ago we learned how to read a person without reading their minds."

"We, just want to get home," Selva says. "We cannot help you in your conflict with the Nadorian Alliance, our prime directive prevents us from getting involved in the internal affairs of other cultures."

"With all due respect, Captain you may have no choice," Coira says. "The Nadorians believe that any ship that enters their space is their property. You may be able to fight them, but your supplies won't last forever, the Nadorians are a patient race. They will run you to the ground, and it will only be a matter of time before they win, if you don't make alliances."

"Just, how far does Nadorian space go?" Selva asks, but she's afraid of the answer.

"The Nadorians occupy a large amount of territory," Iwari says, taking out a datapad, and inputting data, passing it around to the Starfleet officers.

"You must be joking, this covers most of the Quadrant!" Waseri says as she see's the data. "Captain, I don't think we're going to get out of this easily."

"Unfortunately, I have to agree, and I thought _Voyager_ had it bad," Selva says. "We cannot promise that we will aid your revolution, but if the Sintaro can help us get through Nadorian space, then we will be grateful."

"Do you ever think your, Starfleet will make it this far?" Iwari asks.

"I wouldn't put it past us," Selva says. "We are explorers, and we will strive to reach the farthest edges of the universe if we could. If we make it home before then, we'll have been the first Starfleet vessel to explore the Triangulum Galaxy."

"Well, we will help as much as we can," Iwari says. "Maybe someday, when this is all over and your Federation gets this far, we'll be able to join. But that is still a long ways off."

"We have a long voyage ahead of us, all the help we can get would be appreciated," Selva says.

"I will pass the message on to the rest of the Sintaro to provide you with whatever assistance is necessary," Iwari says.

"_Captain, we're picking up the _Rainier_ heading back to the ship,"_ the bridge officer in command says over Selva's commbadge.

"Thank you," Selva says. "Anything else on sensors?"

"_No, nothing,"_ the officer replies.

"All right," Selva says, and gets up. "Well, it was good to talk with you both."

"We will stay nearby in case something happens," Iwari says, and activates a communicator. "We're ready to return to the ship."

The two Sintaro officers transport off the ship.

"Captain, do you think we can trust them?" Waseri asks.

"I hope so, I certainly hope so," Selva says.

**00000**

"I, don't believe this..." Jaie says, looking over the data that the Sintaro had provided for the crew of the _Helen_. She was talking with Selva in the Ready Room, where they had met to go over the details. "The Nadorians seemed so polite."

"According to Iwari, that's how they operate," Selva says. "They start out by acting like a friend, and then they stab you in the back."

"I just can't believe it," Jaie says, and Selva nods.

"We are in the Triangulum Galaxy, millions of light years from home, we cannot expect all the politics to be the same," Selva says. "If they're right, the Nadorians are a serious threat to the ship and we have to gain what data we can."

"Yes Captain, I understand," Jaie says.

"Hopefully, we won't be stuck in Nadorian space for the rest of the journey," Selva says. "But, I'm more concerned about what lies beyond Nadorian space."

"What about this place here," Jaie says, showing a section of space in the middle of Nadorian territory not too far away. "This part of space doesn't belong to the Nadorian Alliance, the information doesn't say why however."

"Hmm, Pasori space," Selva says, looking at the limited information they where given. "Apparently the Sintaro don't know much about this area of space. They do know one thing though, that the Nadorian Alliance stays out of this territory for some reason."

"Interesting," Jaie says. "This might be helpful, if we could enter Pasori space, we could avoid the Nadorians if only for a short time.

"Perhaps," Selva says, and suddenly an alarm sounds, the two officers exchange glances and head out of the ready room to the bridge.

**00000**

"Report!" Selva says, taking her seat in the Captain's chair.

"Two ships off the port bow," Eric says.

"On screen," Selva says, as the image of two large ships with a deep golden color appears on the viewscreen.

"We're being hailed by the Sintaro," Elia adds, as the image of Iwari appears on the screen.

"_Captain Selva, the Nadorians have located us,"_ Iwari says. _"What is our course of action?"_

"We'll provide cover for you as best we can so you can get away," Selva says. "The Nadorians can't destroy your ship."

"_Captain, we have to make sure that you get out safely yourself,"_ Iwari says. _"You and your crew have got to get back home, and we want to help you."_

"Then, what would you suggest?" Selva asks.

"_We will be able to best assist you if we work together,"_ Iwari says, and Selva nods. _"The Nadorians clearly underestimate your ship's capabilities if they only are sending two ships."_

"Be safe, Captain," Selva says, and Iwari nods as they cut communications.

"Captain, they're powering weapons and firing on the _Octia_," Eric says, as phaser fire rakes the shields of the Sintaro ship.

"Lieutenant Elia, try to place us between the Nadorian vessel and the _Octia_," Selva says, as the _Helen _begins to move into position. "Lieutenant Hernandez, open fire on the closest Nadorian vessel."

"Firing on the Nadorian vessel," Eric says, as the _Helen _opens fire on the ship.

"They're hailing us," Waseri says.

"Put it on screen," Selva says, as the image of Riconte appears on the screen. "Rajeeck Riconte, how good to talk to you."

"_Cut the pleasantries Captain, why have you opened fire on my ship?"_ Riconte demands.

"And you better not lie to us, Rajeeck," Selva says, crossing her arms. "We have talked with the Sintaro, they have told us everything."

"_You will not go anywhere in the Nadorian Alliance without facing down our might,"_ Riconte says growling. _"You will regret the day that you crossed the Nadorian Alliance."_

"Its far from over," Selva says, and makes the motion to cut the transmission.

"Captain, the _Octia_ has been badly damaged," Eric reports.

"Captain, I'm picking up massive energy readings from the _Octia_," Weok says, suddenly very worried. "Its coming from the warp drive, its going critical!"

"Transporter room, lock onto the crew of the _Octia _and send them to Cargo Bay 2 for triage," Selva says.

"We've got them on board," Waseri says. "Dr. Tannis is en-route now."

"Lieutenant Drash, set coordinates 189 mark 2," Selva says.

"Entering coordinates," Elia says. "Where exactly are we going?"

"The only place nearby that we might be able to be safe," Selva says. "Take us into Pasori space, warp 8!"

"Entering warp," Elia says, as the _Helen _jumps into warp.

**00000**

"Thank you for rescuing me and my crew, Captain Selva," Iwari says as he and Selva walk into the lounge area.

"It was no problem," Selva says, as she spots Elia standing behind the bar, serving food and drinks. "Lieutenant, I didn't know you tended bar too."

"Sorry Captain, we didn't have time to get our lounge staff before we left," Elia says. "I did some work at Quark's on Deep Space Nine before I was assigned to the _Helen_, I thought that as long as we where stuck out here, I might as well."

"Fine with me, Lieutenant," Selva says, giving Elia a smile before turning back to Iwari. "What can you tell me about Pasori space?"

"Not anything really," Iwari says reluctantly. "The Pasorians are a very reclusive race, but there is something about them that keeps the Nadorians from bothering them."

"Okay, well its worth the risk to try and avoid the Nadorians for awhile," Selva says.

**00000**

"_Captain's log, we are nearing Pasori space and we will cross the border in a matter of minutes. It has been a day since we picked up the Sintaro, and they are merging well with our crew, hopefully they will be the first of many allies we make in the Triangulum Galaxy."_

"Crossing the border into Pasori Space," Elia says as the _Helen_ enters the determined area of space. "What should we do?"

"Drop to impulse, we want to make sure that there is nothing ahead that will be a problem," Selva says as the _Helen_ drops out of warp. "Run a sensor sweep of the space ahead."

"Nothing so far, Captain," Weok says, then an alert sounds as the image of the Omega symbol flashes on every screen in the bridge. "Captain, what is..."

"No, not now..." Selva says, cursing under her breath.

"I think we now know why the Nadorians avoid this area of space," Jaie says.

"The Pasorians have harnessed the Omega Molecule, its the Omega Directive," Selva says, standing up. "Which means, we have to stop it if we want to keep going."

"_Captain's log, supplemental, we have uncovered the reason as to why the Nadorians avoid this area of space. The Omega Directive, the only thing in Starfleet that overrides the Prime Directive, if the Pasorians have harnessed Omega, then we have to stop them."_

**00000**

_**The crew of the **_**Helen****_ has made enemies as well as allies, and has made a startling discovery, the presence of the Omega molecule in the Triangulum Galaxy. What reasons do the Pasorians have for harnessing Omega, and what does this mean for our heroes as they delve deeper into Pasori space?_**

_**Find out in chapter 2, "The Omega Directive."**_


	2. The Omega Directive

_Well, lets get started on chapter 2._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek._

**00000**

**000000000**

**CHAPTER 2:**

**THE OMEGA DIRECTIVE**

**000000000**

"_The Omega Particle,_

_To the Borg it is the ultimate perfection,_

_To the Federation it is a threat to space and time._

_What mysteries lie within its intricate design, we may never know."_

**000000000**

**00000**

"_Captain's log, stardate 467948.7, despite the fact that we are a very long way away from home, we are still bound by Starfleet protocol. As such, we are bound to the Omega Directive, a directive set down by Starfleet. Normally, we'd have to defer to the Federation for dealing with this problem, but we are alone out here, and as such we must deal with it ourselves."_

"The Omega molecule, I am not familiar with that," Iwari says, looking thoughtfully at Selva who sighs.

"A scientist by the name of Dr. Ketteract attempted to create it in the 23rd century, the result was a destabilization of subspace when it detonated," Selva says. "While it could power an entire civilization, Starfleet realized that it posed a serious threat because it could prevent space travel across an entire Galaxy. The Borg consider it to be the ultimate perfection, and if the Pasorians are using it, we must abide by the Omega Directive unfortunately."

"I see," Iwari says. "However I have my concerns, if Omega is the only thing that is keeping the Nadorians out of this area of space..."

"That is a problem," Selva admits, looking out at the stars. "This is one of the problems with the Omega Directive, because it overrides the Prime Directive, we basically are forced to play God with other civilizations. How can we make a decision like this, to pick the future of a civilization so far away from the Federation."

"Captain Selva, you and your crew welcomed mine aboard your ship, I am sorry to see you have to make such a difficult decision," Iwari says, shaking his head.

"I can override the Omega Directive, but we would have to navigate around Pasori Space in order to avoid encountering it again," Selva says. "That would add months to our journey, and would put us at risk to attack from the Nadorian Alliance. The Humans have a saying, caught between a rock and a hard place."

"A rock and a hard place?" Iwari asks.

"It comes from an old Earth story, _The Odyssey_, the Captain of a vessel had to sail between a rock where a horrible monster known as Scylla and a massive Whirlpool known as Charybdis. Caught between the two monsters, Odysseus had to sail between them."

"Too bad it isn't that easy here," Iwari says.

"Well, it wasn't easy for him either," Selva says, and shrugs. "Then we'll have to take the _Helen _to the nearest source of Omega Molecules. Maybe we can at least negotiate terms with the Pasorians to have a route through their territory to avoid their stores of Omega Molecules."

"Its worth a try," Iwari says with a nod.

**00000**

"_Captain's log supplemental, we have managed to temporarily deactivate the Omega Directive and re-established control of the _Helen_. However, because we have to follow up on the Omega Directive, we have set a course for the nearest M-class planet, which was where the reading was apparently coming from."_

"We're dropping out of warp now, Captain," Elia reports as the ship drops out of warp.

"Perform a scan on the planet," Selva says.

"Captain, picking up a concentration of Omega Molecules on..." Weok starts to say, but pauses. "The entire planet, Captain it seems that the planet's infrastructure is powered by Omega Molecules."

"Incredible, they've actually managed to create a stable Omega Molecule reaction," Selva says, and shakes her head. "An entire planet powered by Omega, this could be much harder than we originally anticipated."

"The Diplomatic approach might not go as well as we anticipated," Jaie says. "But, at the very least this will give us a chance to maybe make a new friend."

"Captain, we are being hailed by the surface," Eric says.

"Put it on screen," Selva says, and the viewscreen turns on to show the image of a female alien with dark blue skin, short white hair, and a series of stripes running along her visible skin, wearing what resembles a tunic.

"_On behalf of the Pasori, I welcome you to the planet Uhru, I am Governor Ediri, may we be of assistance?" _Ediri asks.

"Governor, I am Captain Selva of the Federation Starship _Helen_," Selva says, sighing a little as she crosses her arms.

"_Federation, I am not familiar with that organization,"_ Ediri says.

"Well, lets just say that we've come a long way," Selva says. "Governor, there is something I want to discuss with you."

"_With me?"_ Ediri asks, looking around.

"Governor, I will explain once I arrive," Selva says, shaking her head.

"_Very well, I'll meet you down here in an hour,"_ Ediri says, bowing slightly. _"May your journey prove fruitful, Captain."_

"Thank you, Governor," Selva says, and cuts the communication. "Commander Eroi, you have the bridge, I'm going to go check on Kaiya."

"Yes ma'am," Jaie says, and takes the Captain's Chair as Selva enters the turbolift.

**00000**

"I could have sworn it would work this time," Elia says, looking disappointed at a napkin that is covering a saltshaker and down at a coin on the bar. "This makes me so mad!" She says, placing the napkin and saltshaker back down, and slamming her palm down, flattening out the napkin.

"Wow, how'd you do that?" Kaiya asks, looking on with wonder at the Bajoran's magic trick.

"Uh uh, a magician never reveals her tricks," Elia says, wagging her finger and electing a pout from the young Athenan. "Come on, I'll get you another slushie."

"Yay!" Kaiya says as Elia turns back to the replicator behind her in order to get the drink.

"There you are, Kaiya," Selva says, coming into the bar, and wrapping an arm around her daughter. "Lieutenant Drash, thank you for keeping an eye on Kaiya."

"Its no problem, she reminds me of my niece Danielle," Elia says with a smile, but then sighs. "I'm sorry, I've got a lot of friends back in the Milky Way Galaxy, and I would like to see them before 300 years."

"That's understandable, Lieutenant," Selva says. "All of us want to get back home, to our families, to Starfleet, to the Federation. And to do that, we have to work together."

"Yeah," Elia says, running a hand along her earring. "I miss them terribly, Erika, Danielle, even some of the more annoying people I've run into in my time on Deep Space 9."

"At least she didn't have to leave us all behind," a woman's voice says, and a Trill with black hair tied into a ponytail steps into view. "Lieutenant Anlai Torvin, I'm the assistant chief engineer, Captain."

"And my Fiance," Elia adds, smiling.

"Fiance, huh?" Selva asks, smiling a little, lesbian couples weren't uncommon among Athenans. "Are you going to want to get married eventually?"

"Of course," Anlai says, smiling a little.

"Well, I doubt you want to wait 300 years for us to get back home," Selva says with a light chuckle. "You know what, I'm a Captain, I can marry you two."

"Well, okay, but we'll have to discuss it," Elia says, and Anlai nods in agreement.

"All right, I probably should head down to the planet, do you want to stay here, Kaiya?" Selva asks, hugging Kaiya.

"Yep!" Kaiya says.

"You take good care of her, Lieutenants," Selva says, and heads out.

**00000**

"Governor, thank you for letting me pay this visit," Selva says, taking a seat at the table where Ediri is sitting across from her. "We do not make a policy of interfering with other cultures, but..."

"I assume then that this is about our power source," Ediri says. "The, Tapeira is a powerful form of energy indeed."

"We call it the Omega Particle," Selva says. "Your people must be aware of the danger that it poses."

"Once, a very long time ago, this entire region of space was inhabited by a species known as the Sodarans," Ediri says. "There are few planets in this area not touched by their technology, our ancestors where granted this technology by the Sodarans, and the ability to control it."

"What happened to the Sodarans?" Selva asks.

"Well, that's a bit of a mystery really," Ediri says. "Our ancient texts say that they came from a distant galaxy, forced from their home by invaders. Those that came first became the protectors of our worlds, benefactors that gave us technology beyond our wildest imaginations, and then the Dark Ones came."

"The Dark Ones?" Selva asks.

"They where like the Sodarans, but different in the way they acted," Ediri says. "They attempted to enslave us, but a number of species banded together and pushed them out of our space."

"Interesting," Selva says. "Listen, we have a bit of a problem, even if you have it controlled, we have a rule in Starfleet called the Omega Directive. We where passing through this area of space to avoid the Nadorians when it became active."

"Yes, well unfortunately we cannot do anything to stop it, it is what powers our society," Ediri says, shaking her head. "I will have to talk to the council about what to do. In the meantime, I believe I have something that will interest you."

"Oh really?" Selva asks, and Ediri gets up, and leaves the room. A minute later she walks back in carrying a box, opening it up she removes what resembles a tablet along with a strange device. "What is this?"

"This is the account of Darshus the Wise, the last of the Sodarans to leave us," Ediri says, Selva picks up the tablet, and runs the device over it, the words change. Selva's eyes narrow, there was something familiar about the language, then all of a sudden it hits her as she changes it again, this time seeing a symbol.

"You said this was from the Sodarans right?" Selva asks.

"Yes, that is correct," Ediri says.

"It seems, that we aren't the first visitors here from the Milky Way Galaxy," Selva says, her hand shaking a little. "This writing, its Iconian."

**00000**

"_Captain's log supplemental, I have called a meeting of the senior staff, along with Iwari to discuss this development. The Iconians, long thought to have been wiped out, now in the last few years we have learned that they have been seeping back into our Galaxy, trying to cause trouble. They where behind the Hobus Supernova and some even think they caused the Undine infiltration of the Alpha Quadrant, and now we have to search for answers as to what they where doing in the Triangulum Galaxy."_

"The Iconians, what are they doing in the Triangulum Galaxy?" Jaie asks, they had all heard of the encounters with Romulans serving the Iconians by the crew of the USS _Constance._ "I thought their Empire was in the Milky Way Galaxy."

"Well, seeing as how we don't exactly know the limits of their gate technology, its possible that the Iconians could travel out this far," Weok says. "But I wonder why they would help the inhabitants, they seem to be more the conquering type."

"That's where the account of Darshus the Wise comes in," Selva says. "According to the translation, the Sodarans where a faction of Iconians that tried to help species instead of enslavement. The Iconian leadership considered them dangerous and foolish, but they escaped through a gateway to the Triangulum Galaxy."

"So, the Sodarans are these, Iconians?" Iwari asks. "They are known even among the Edari, the Lords of Roji is our name for them, but they may have gone by many names in many cultures."

"And then, the dark ones, they have to be the other Iconians," Tannis says. "Then, the Iconians must have followed them here after the bombardment of their homeworld."

"This actually could help Starfleet, if we could get the data to them, learn more about the Iconian problem," Selva says. "If only there was a way to gain access to an Iconian database, like they found on Iconia while going after Taris."

"Well, I'm not exactly an expert on the old legends, but I know someone who is," Iwari says. "He came aboard with us, I can take you to him if you want."

"Uh, okay," Selva says, getting up with Iwari. "Lets go, dismissed."

**00000**

A few moments later, Selva and Iwari are in the quarters of an aging Edari that is looking through information on a datapad.

"Captain, Darish here can tell you anything you need to know," Iwari says, and Selva nods.

"So, you want to know about the Lords of Roji then," Darish says. "Yes, we had contact with them 200,000 of your years ago."

"Fits the time table for the Iconians..." Selva says.

"Well, if you really want to know about them, there's an old legend that is universal among all the civilizations that they touched," Darish says. "Most of them where wiped out by the Azrath, or the Dark Ones as the Pasori call them, but legends say that a number of them may have escaped the genocide, and settled down on a distant planet called Tomek Dai."

"Yes, I've heard of this one," Iwari says. "Tomek Dai, also known as the wandering planet, the last great stronghold of the Lords of Roji."

"Wandering planet, you mean like a Rogue Planet?" Selva asks. "A planet that isn't in orbit around a star, basically one that drifts through space."

"Yes, I suppose that describes it," Darish says. "The Azrath where unable to find this last stronghold, and soon after departed for parts unknown. And to this day, no one has been entirely sure where Tomek Dai is, its location lost to time."

"Well, I guess then we can't go there," Selva says.

"Well, maybe we can, but the legends say that the location of the planet was hidden away by the Lords of Roji to keep it secret from the Azrath," Darish says. "And to reach it, one must pass through the greatest of challenges. Only the bravest of Captains would dare to do so, but regretfully we do not know exactly the details of all the challenges, they where separated among several civilizations by the Lords of Roji."

"Then, what do you know?" Selva asks.

"The Challenge of Fear," Darish says, reading from the datapad. "A Captain who seeks the ancient mysteries of Tomek Dai must pass through an area of space known as the Vasteck Expanse, an area known to be inhabited by monsters that move through space without a ship, and horrifying anomalies that can crush a ship."

"Yeah, we have some areas like that back in the Milky Way Galaxy," Selva says. "Its interesting to know that some space phenomenon is found everywhere, Starfleet calls them the Bermuda Triangles of space," she says, getting glances from the two Sintaro. "Its an area on Earth, lots of strange things happen apparently."

"Well, whatever is really there, no ship has ever entered the Vasteck Expanse, and left unscathed by its horrors," Darish says. "It is another area of space that even the Nadorians fear."

"They sent an expedition into the Expanse once, they came out with one ship left, 5 crewmembers alive, and never sent anyone back in again," Iwari says.

"Yes, very much like the Delphic Expanse," Selva mutters. "Can I see a map of the area?"

"Yes, here you go," Darish says, handing her the datapad, showing the astrometric data from the area around the Vasteck Expanse.

"Oh no..." Selva says, realizing quickly that this was going to be a problem, the Vasteck Expanse was on their route home. "Looks like we're going to have to brave the Expanse one way or another, this would take a good year just to get around."

"Then, you may be the first to travel all the way to Tomek Dai, in over 100,000 years," Darish says.

**00000**

"Tomek Dai, you're kidding," Ediri says, she had come aboard the _Helen_ and was meeting with Selva in her ready room. "I've heard stories of the wandering planet since I was a little girl, I thought it was just a legend."

"Civilizations like this seem to be universal," Jaie comments. "I remember once reading about the legends of Atlantis from Earth."

"On Athena, old legends spoke of Katek-Dur," Selva comments. "Supposedly it was a civilization in a jungle on the South Pole of our planet that predated our arrival on the planet. When we finally bothered to look, didn't find much more than ice and snow, but maybe there's some truth to Tomek Dai."

"Perhaps, after all if these, Iconians came here like you said, then they did leave behind evidence," Ediri says. "This is surprising to say the least, visitors from another Galaxy."

"I'm sorry, but can we get down to business?" Selva asks.

"Yes, of course, I've talked with the Pasori council," Ediri says. "They will take some convincing, its not that they don't believe that you aren't who you say they are, but..."

"Yeah, you can't exactly cripple your civilization to let us pass, I understand," Selva says. "Is there anything that can be done as an alternative?"

"Well, I'd have to talk to the council, but... you know what, I've got a better idea, you should address the council, Captain," Ediri says.

"Me? Wait, I don't know if I'm..." Selva starts to say, she wasn't a diplomat, she couldn't stand before a council of leaders and try to make their case.

"Captain, the only alternative to shutting down the entire system, is something that we've never actually tried before," Ediri says. "The Sodarans left us with the capability to dampen the signature of Tapeira, but its never been tested."

"All right, I'll do it," Selva reluctantly agrees.

"Good, you'll speak before the council in a couple of hours," Ediri says.

**00000**

An hour later, Selva is in her quarters getting her dress uniform buttoned up, though she is nervously struggling with it, getting a laugh from Kaiya.

"Sure, I can fight a Klingon in hand-to-hand combat, but I can't get this darn uniform on right..." Selva says.

"Mommy, you've never fought a Klingon in hand-to-hand combat," Kaiya giggles.

"Oh, I haven't, must have been a dream," Selva says.

"Mommy, you'll do fine, don't worry about it," Kaiya says, giggling a little as Selva ruffles her hair.

"Okay, you be good while I'm down there, got it?" Selva says.

"Of course I will mommy," Kaiya says.

**00000**

Selva looks around nervously, she was in the governor's mansion again, this time Ediri had set up a conference over a system of holographic communicators with the Pasori council. She glances around nervously, trying to gauge their reactions to her presence there, this was technically a First Contact mission, but not one that she particularly enjoyed.

"Representatives of the Pasori people, I, appologize for this abrupt meeting, but we have visitors from the distant Galaxy that those we speak of in story and song hail from," Ediri says, Selva looks around nervously, hearing whispers about her. "I ask that you allow her to speak, and to not judge her words too quickly."

"_Very well, we will hear you out, Captain,"_ the leader of the council, a man who Selva had been introduced to as Castus says.

"My name is Captain Selva, I come from the Milky Way Galaxy, along with my crew with the exception of members of a faction within Nadorian space that we picked up," Selva says. "We where surprised to learn that we where not the first visitors here from our Galaxy, but that is not why I have come before you. We do not interfere in the affairs of other civilization, that is our most sacred rule in Starfleet. With another rule however, I shouldn't even be talking to you like this, but the alternative would hurt both our people. Where I come from, your, Tapeira which was passed down to you by the Sodarans, is perceived to Starfleet as a dangerous threat to space travel, if possible, I have been informed that there is a way to mask the signal."

"_Yes, but it will only work for a short time,"_ the representative in charge of the science division, a woman named Rada says.

"Then only have it used when we are within scanning range of a ship, station, or system," Selva says. "I know what I'm asking you, you've probably never even tried this before, but we cannot continue through your space if we keep getting interrupted every time we come too close. We came here seeking a sanctuary from a species that is just as much your enemy as they are ours, and the Humans have a saying, the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"_We have a long standing agreement with the Nadorian Alliance,"_ Castus says.

"_The Nadorians will break it if they sense weakness,"_ the military adviser, a man named Narus says. _"If we mask our Tapeira, they may see it as weakness, and we cannot mobilize our fleet quickly enough to stop an invasion."_

"We can move through your territory quickly enough, but we'll need to stock up on supplies before we can even progress much further," Selva says.

"_We cannot provide you with much," _Castus says. _"However, if you provide us with a list of what supplies you require, then we will see what we can do."_

"I will have my Second Officer transfer the information then," Selva says, getting a nod from the leader of the council.

"_We will contact the Governor to inform her of the decision we reach," _Castus says, and the holographic images turn off.

"Do not worry, Captain, I'm sure they will reach a fair decision," Ediri says.

"I hope so," Selva says.

**00000**

"Commander Eroi," a voice from behind the Commander says, she turns in her chair to look at Ensign Meredith Parker, who was covering for Commander Hernandez while he was taking a rest. "I'm picking up some strange readings behind the planet's moon."

"Lets take a look," Jaie says, moving up to the tactical console, she glances over the readings. "Launch a probe, I want a closer look at it."

"Yes ma'am," Meredith says, and a probe is launched, the telemetry lasts for a few seconds before the probe is suddenly destroyed. "Commander, those weapons..."

"I know," Jaie says, pressing her commbadge. "Captain, we have a situation up here, we've picked up a ship behind one of the moons. They're moving off and jumping to warp now."

"_A ship, any idea who it was?"_ Selva asks.

"Yes, that much we can tell, the ship, it was Nadorian," Jaie says.

"_I thought the Nadorians didn't come into this territory,"_ Selva says.

"Its possible that they where following us," Jaie says. "I can't be certain what their intentions are, they might be going for reinforcements, we may have a firefight up here, Captain."

"_I see... I will continue to talk with the Pasori down here,"_ Selva says. _"With any luck, they won't launch a full attack on the Pasori, even if they want us that badly."_

"Understood, Captain," Jaie says. "Be careful down there."

"_I will, Commander, you be careful up there,"_ Selva says. _"Selva out."_

Jaie presses her commbadge. "Commander Eroi to Lieutenant Drash, come to the bridge, we're going to need your helm skills," she says.

"_On my way,"_ Elia says.

**00000**

"Come on, can't you stay a little longer?" Anlai asks Elia as she is getting her uniform back on, the two had settled down for dinner just as the call came in.

"I'm sorry Anlai, but I'm the ship's helm officer, if we're going to get into a fight, which based off of her reaction I think we will be, they'll need the best pilot at the helm," Elia says, sliding the uniform jacket over her black sports bra underneath.

"You know you owe me big time now," Anlai says, zipping up her fiance's jacket. "I expect you back as soon as you're done."

"Of course, nothing will keep me from seeing you again," Elia says, planting a kiss on Anlai's lips. "Besides, it might be nothing more than a false alarm."

"Just come back safe," Anlai says.

"I will," Elia says, and heads out of the quarters.

**00000**

"The Nadorians, why would they risk running into our fleet by coming in here?" Ediri asks.

"I think they might be interested in taking our ship," Selva says. "When we entered their space, they tried to make a move against us. I think that they must have followed us here in order to try again, and they don't care about your technology."

"We don't have enough time to mobilize our ships, if the Nadorians come, they might also gain a foothold in our space," Ediri says. "Maybe if you leave, you'll draw them away."

"It won't make a difference, if they've found a weakness in your defenses, they'll keep coming back," Selva says, shaking her head. "Let us help you, we'll hold the Nadorians off until you can mobilize your fleet."

"All right, thank you for your help, Captain," Ediri says. "If this attack can be stopped, then the Pasori will be in your debt."

"We'll see," Selva says, activating her commbadge. "Selva to _Helen_, one to beam up," she says, as she's transported back to the ship.

**00000**

"Captain, the Nadorians are dropping out of warp," Eric says as Selva settles down into her chair on the bridge, the viewscreen shows about 4 smaller craft surrounding a large craft.. "They're hailing us."

"Put it on screen," Selva says, and the image of a Nadorian male appears. "This is Captain Selva of the Federation Starship _Helen_ speaking on behalf of the Pasori, you are intruding on established territory, turn back or we will fire on you."

"_Captain Selva, Rajeeck Riconte said you where bold, but I didn't think you where this bold,"_ the Nadorian says. _"I am Sartek Moraj, you will surrender your ship, your crew, and the criminals against the Alliance that you are harboring to us."_

"Yeah, that would be a no," Selva says, shaking her head. "Just because we came into your territory doesn't make us your property. Or is there something else you want, maybe you realized what we know about the ancient visitors that came from our Galaxy."

"_So, you know the legends, you aren't even from this Galaxy, you do not deserve to discover the secrets of Tomek Dai!" _Moraj says with a sneer. _"The secrets of the Kazak belong to the Nadorian Alliance, you have no right to them!"_

"Neither do the Nadorians, Tomek Dai is a treasure trove of knowledge, you'll just use it for your own selfish purposes," Selva says. She was stalling, she had to give the Pasori enough time to mobilize their ships or they'd all be in trouble.

"_We will have the secrets of Tomek Dai, and we will not allow meddlers from another galaxy get in our way! End transmission,"_ Moraj says, and the viewscreen turns off.

"Please tell me that bought enough time," Selva says.

"Not nearly enough, the Pasori ships are still mobilizing," Jaie says.

"All right then, we're in for a fight after all, red alert!" Selva calls out as the alarm for red alert blares across the ship, Selva presses her commbadge. "Bridge to Engineering, can we get more power to the shields and weapons? Because we're gonna need it real fast."

"_Captain, I'll see what I can do, but I don't know how much I can give you in a fight,"_ Togri says on the other end._  
_

"Give us the best you can," Selva says as the _Helen_ shakes from the phaser fire that impacts the shields. "Return fire, hit them with phasers! Lieutenant Drash, evasive maneuvers!"

The _Helen _turns quickly, hitting one of the smaller ships with the phasers.

"Their shields took a major hit, looks like we might have an advantage over the smaller ships at least," Eric says.

"Keep firing, make sure that shields are maintained!" Selva shouts as the ship is hit with phaser fire.

"Shields down to 85%, Captain," Eric says. "But a few more hits should destroy the smaller ships."

"Do it!" Selva says, as the phaser fire hits the smaller ships, disabling them, it was then down to the _Helen _and Moraj's ship.

"Captain, I'm picking up signatures coming from the Pasori spacedock, the ships are launching!" Eric shouts as a small fleet of ships appear on the viewscreen.

"The Calvary has arrived, target the Nadorian's weapons systems!" Selva says, as phaser fire strikes the Nadorian ship. "Hail them," She says, as the image of Moraj appears on the viewscreen again. "Sartek Moraj, it seems that we have the upper hand now, I would recommend getting your crews off your ships and turn around and return to Nadorian territory."

"_You would be wise to give up, eventually, Captain,"_ Moraj sneers. _"We will never stop hunting you, you claim that you do not interfere with other civilizations, but..."_

"Shut him up," Selva says, and the transmission is muted. "Is anyone else starting to miss the Klingons? At least they where interesting to talk to, these guys just blather on and on it seems."

"Do they really think we're going to surrender just because we ask them to?" Waseri wonders out loud, she shakes her head. "Then again, the Borg seem to expect us to not resist every time we run into them."

"Ain't that the truth," Elia says with a chuckle.

"Looks like he's done," Eric says.

"Put him back on," Selva says.

"_We will be back, Captain," _Moraj says, and the Nadorian ship turns and jumps to warp.

"And we'll be ready for them," Selva says. "Contact the Pasori ships, tell them to stand down."

"What now, Captain?" Jaie asks.

"Lets hope that was enough to convince the council," Selva says, and gets up. "I'll be in Transporter room 2, you have the bridge Commander."

**00000**

Selva was back down in the Governor's Mansion, hopefully for the last time, getting the final decision. This time, it was only Castus that was communicating with them.

"_Captain, we have reached a decision,"_ Castus says.

"And what is it?" Selva asks.

"_You and your crew risked your lives to keep one of our worlds safe, for that we are in your debt, a debt that we may never repay,"_ Castus says. _"As long as you send us regular course headings, we will be able to keep Tapeira masked so that you may pass through our space unhindered by your, rule."_

"Thank you," Selva says.

"_Regretfully we cannot spare very much resources for your ship, but we will have what we can sent to you by transport,"_ Castus says. _"However, if I may make a recommendation, there may be somewhere you can get resources."_

"Where is that?" Selva asks.

"_I hesitate to bring it up, it is extremely dangerous to go to,"_ Castus says. _"A day's journey from Uhru is an area known as the Eradus Void, its an area of space that has no stars or planets, but it does have something that might be of interest to you._

"I'm listening," Selva says.

**00000**

"_Captain's log, supplemental, this information is something that might just help us get through this area of space. If the Pasori are correct, even if there are risks, the potential benefits may just outweigh them, and for that, I have to bring this before my crew. And in addition, there is something I want to ask of my helm officer."_

Selva steps off the turbolift onto the bridge. "All right, in two hours a transport will arrive that will give us what resources they can spare," she says, sitting down in her chair. "Its not much, but I've got something else that will help us."

"What is it?" Jaie asks.

"A day's journey from here, there is a derelict Starship floating in space, no one's been able to get at it since it arrived 10 years ago," Selva says with a slight smile. "Its sort of a local legend really, a ship that appeared out of nowhere, they even say its haunted."

"So, we're going to a derelict that may or may not have what we need, based off of a Pasori Ghost story?" Waseri asks, raising an eyebrow. "I'm a little skeptical of this, Captain."

"Well, its on our route anyway, I think its worth a try," Selva says. "If we're going to make it home, we'll have to take whatever chances we get to find resources."

"This might be interesting," Elia says. "I mean, who knows what kind of ship we'll find, it might give us a lot of information."

"All right, I say we try it," Jaie says, and the rest of the staff agree.

"Lieutenant Drash, I want to talk to you about something in my Ready Room," Selva says, and Elia gets up, and the two walk into the ready room.

**00000**

"Is everything all right Captain?" Elia asks as Selva takes a seat at her desk.

"Relax Lieutenant, there's just something I want to ask of you," Selva says. "I know that you're Bajoran, are you very religious?"

"I like to think I am," Elia says.

"Say a prayer for us, Lieutenant, to your Prophets," Selva says, getting a look of surprise from Elia. "I know what I'm asking, but we need all the help we can get out here."

"I will, Captain," Elia says with a nod. "If its okay Captain, I would like to spend some time with Anlai."

"Go ahead," Selva says, watching as Elia gets up and leaves, she smiles a little.

**00000**

Elia embraces Anlai, giving her a deep, passionate kiss that lasts for a few moments before she breaks it.

"I'm glad you made it back," Anlai says, smiling as she plants a small kiss on Elia's lips. "Lieutenant Togri will have me working at getting the ship back in shape tomorrow, but tonight, I just want to be with you."

"I know," Elia says, and holds Anlai close, she glances out the viewport at the stars beyond, wondering if she could see the Milky Way from this far away. She sighs, running a hand through her fiance's hair, and she says a silent prayer, hoping that it would be heard so far from home.

"_Prophets, give strength to those who are on this long journey home, and give us the ability to persevere over the coming months and years. May we not stray from the ideals that we hold true, and may we one day see our loved ones again. The journey ahead of us is one that we will take, for what choice do we have. May our strength never wane, and may our ship still hold fast, and may we return home one day."_

**00000**

_**And after a very long time working on it, that is Chapter 2 of **_**Star Trek: Helen****_, the crew is passing through Pasori space, and we start to learn more about the Triangulum Galaxy._**

_**Coming up in chapter 3, the **_**Helen****_ arrives in the Eradus Void and comes upon the derelict ship. But there are mysteries aboard the ship that even the Pasori couldn't warn them about, and the crew is faced with a difficult challenge. What secrets lie in this derelict ship? What will they discover aboard it? Find out in Chapter 3 of _Star Trek: Helen, _"Timeless Whispers."_**

_**Coming soon.**_


	3. Timeless Whispers

_Well, Chapter 3 ready to go, and I want to thank my friends on Star Trek Online for helping me get this one underway._

_Also, if the Stardate seems out of order, its because I'm switching Stardate calculators._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek._

**00000**

**0000000000**

**CHAPTER 3:**

**TIMELESS WHISPERS**

**0000000000**

"_In this void of space,_

_All we hear are Timeless Whispers."_

**0000000000**

**00000**

"_Captain's log, Stardate 91620.15, we have left Uhru to head for the Eradus Void, its hard to believe that there can be such a large area of space with just nothing in it. Hunting down an old derelict ship isn't exactly what I had in mind when we came through the wormhole, but I will take whatever chances we can get to gain resources."_

"Captain, we're entering the Eradus Void now," Elia says, as the viewscreen shows an empty area of space. "Its hard to believe, that there's nothing here."

"I've found that not everything is as it seems," Selva says, leaning forward. "Continue on this course, lets find that ship."

"Captain, I'm picking it up on sensors," Weok says, inputting commands into the console. "Helm, adjust course two degrees."

"Adjusting course," Elia says as the ship moves, picking up speed a little bit as it approaches a large structure floating in space. The vessel is much larger than the _Helen_, it had to be 2 miles in length with a massive saucer section with two nacelles attached to pylons that jut out from the hull that is behind the saucer. "That is one big ship..."

"Captain, I'm picking up unusual readings from that vessel," Eric says, his voice is shaky. "Captain, if I'm reading this correctly, that ship out there, its Starfleet..."

"Starfleet? But, Starfleet has never constructed a ship like that, its enormous..." Selva says. "I think, that maybe we should take a closer look at it before we board it. If that ship is Starfleet, then we may have just made the discovery of the century. Have all departments investigate the ship, I want to know how it got here."

"Yes ma'am," Jaie says, and she begins to send orders over the ship's communicator.

**00000**

"Captain, our scans are complete," Weok says, shaking his head. "Its amazing, this ship is more like a small city than a Starship. It probably could hold over 10,000 people, we're looking at 52 decks in all, they even have a park for crying out loud. This ship was built to travel to other galaxies in comfort, I think its definitely an exploration vessel."

"So, then the question is, how did it get here..." Selva says, glancing out the viewport at the massive ship ahead. "There's something familiar about this ship, did you run it through the computer?"

"There is, one ship that seems to match the description," Weok says, glancing at Elia. "We nearly missed it..."

"Captain, it matches descriptions of the USS _Enterprise-_J," Elia says.

"The _Enterprise-J_?" Selva asks, looking surprised. "That's the ship that Archer brought back descriptions of when he was brought to..."

"The 26th century," Elia says. "Then, this ship is from over 100 years into the future."

"Makes you almost wonder what that ship's computer will say about us," Weok says.

"No, that's something we can't look at," Selva says. "We can't learn what happens to us, whether or not we make it back, or even how we make it back. In this instance, the Temporal Prime Directive applies, as tempting as it is to learn it now, is there anything else that is of note?"

"We might have found a place we can land," Jaie says, bringing up an image of the ship, she points to what appears to be a shuttle bay on the side of it. "This area is big enough to fit the entire ship, if we can land and pressurize the shuttle bay, it'll give us a base camp to start our exploration from."

"All right, I'll get on it," Elia says, standing up.

"Lets get going, dismissed," Selva says, and the senior staff walk out of the room.

**00000**

"_Captain's log, supplemental, along with Lieutenants Drash and Hernandez, I have gone to find the bridge of this mysterious vessel. At the same time, my crew is exploring more of the ship in an attempt to find the supplies that we need, but I fear that there is more to this ship than meets the eye."_

"Captain, have you ever heard of an old novel called _Sphere_?" Elia says out loud, she, Selva, and Eric where heading for the ship's bridge, they had to wear environmental suits until the ship's life support got back up. Without power more than what seemed to be low leveled life support in limited areas of the ship, they where having to take the jefferies tubes up.

"Can't say that I have," Selva says. "Feel free to tell me about it, we've got a long way to go."

"Well, it was written in the late 20th century by an author named Michael Crichton, he was known for doing sci-fi and various forms of horror and psychological drama," Elia says as they climb. "_Sphere_ was about a group of scientists and Navy personnel that where investigating a crashed spaceship in the Pacific Ocean. The craft was from 50 years into the future, and had come through time and crashed 300 years into their past, originally they thought it was from an alien civilization."

"Yes, back then Humans where very interested in the possibility of life on other Planets," Eric says.

"So anyway, inside the ship they find a massive sphere, that's where the title of the novel comes from," Elia says. "At first, two of them enter the Sphere, one without telling the others, and the other is caught on video doing it. The sphere gives them this, ability to manifest their thoughts and what they can imagine, as a result they manifest creatures and monsters that attack the habitat they're living in while in this situation."

"Are you saying that we're going to get attacked by monsters?" Selva asks.

"No, no, I'm just commenting on how similar this is," Elia says as they move up farther. "I mean here we are, on a ship from our future, we're cut off from the Federation and anyone else that could come and help us."

"Yeah, well lets hope we come out of this alive," Selva says as they push open the hatch leading onto the bridge.

**00000**

As the three officers push onto the bridge, they look around at the dark bridge, there are bodies everywhere that are remarkably well preserved, probably from the lack of atmosphere. Selva steps over one body, and brushes the dust off the ship's dedication plaque.

"USS _Chimera_, NCC-114903, commissioned 2523, Universe-class," she reads out loud from the plaque. "'We all die. The goal isn't to live forever. The goal is to create something that will,' Chuck Palahniuk."

"Universe-class, so that's what its called," Elia mutters, brushing off the helm of the ship. "This doesn't seem to be LCARS, I mean I'd have to be able to access the systems to be sure, but I'd say they've upgraded."

"Go figure, 100 years in the future and everything we have is obsolete," Selva says, activating her communicator. "Lieutenant Togri, how are things going in Engineering?"

"_We've managed to scrounge up some supplies, but this Engineering is huge!"_ Togri says on the other end. _"Its gotta be at least seven decks tall!"_

"Yes, this ship is huge, we've figured that out already," Selva says. "Can you get power back up and running?"

"_Almost there, just give me one, minute..." _Togri says as the lights on the bridge turn on, showing the display of the ship. _"Did that do it?"_

"Yeah, thanks," Selva says, scanning the environment. "How about environmental systems? They seem to be acting up on the bridge."

"_Captain, the environmentals should be normal,"_ Togri says. _"Are you sure its the environmental systems?"_

"I'm picking up some weird readings, gasses like nothing I've ever seen before," Selva says, and ducks as Eric fires several shots into what seems to be thin air. "Lieutenant, what's going on?"

"Sorry Captain, I thought I saw something..." Eric says.

"_Captain, are you picking up any life signs where you are?"_ Tannis asks over the communicator.

"No, nothing," Selva says.

"_I'm getting reports all over the ship of people seeing strange beings floating in mid-air,"_ Tannis says.

"All right, that's enough, this is the Captain to all salvage teams, fall back to the _Helen_, it seems that we're not alone on this ship after all," Selva says, as they re-enter the jefferies tubes.

**00000**

"Come on Adams, the Captain called us back to the ship," A Vulcan crewman says, talking to her companion that was working on getting through a door.

"Cool it, T'lul, I'm almost through here," Patrick Adams says. "The sooner we figure out what's behind this door, the sooner we can..." he says, and the door suddenly opens as he falls flat on his face.

"May we go now?" T'lul asks.

"Yeah, fine, doesn't seem to be anything here anyway," Patrick says, standing up, he turns around briefly, but is grabbed from behind, a hand clamped over his mouth as he lets out a muffled scream and is pulled through the doorway, which slides shut again.

T'lul taps her commbadge. "Captain, we may have a problem," she says.

"_Report crewman,"_ Selva says.

"Crewman Adams was attempting to get a door open on Deck 15 when he was, grabbed," T'lul reports.

"_Grabbed?"_ Selva asks.

"Yes, grabbed, but I'm not picking up any life signs," T'lul says. "I think that whoever grabbed him must have some way of hiding their life signs."

"_Then we've got two problems on our hands,"_ Selva says. _"First ghosts, and now this, its starting to look like an old Horror movie in here..."_

"Captain, there is likely a logical explanation for everything that is happening," T'lul says. "It is only a matter of finding it."

"_Fall back to the _Helen_ as ordered,"_ Selva says.

"Yes ma'am," T'lul says.

**00000**

"_Captain's log, supplemental, with this recent development, we have made the decision to put the ship on lockdown. All non-essential personnel have been confined to quarters, and we have security teams on every deck making sure that there aren't any beings entering the ship. In the meantime, I am talking with Commander Eroi, who has had some experience with beings like this."_

"This is getting hard to accept, ships aren't just haunted like this..." Selva says, pacing across the floor of her ready room, with Jaie watching.

"Captain, you should stop pacing, you're wearing a hole in the deck plating," Jaie says. "Captain, I doubt that the ship is really haunted, there's gotta be some sort of explanation to this."

"Of course, it could be non-corporeal beings, it could be beings from another plane of existence like the Devidians," Selva groans as she sits down in her chair, the mention of the Devidians gets a shudder out of Jaie. "Sorry Commander, I forgot about your encounter with the Devidians."

The year before, Jaie had been on leave on Drozana Station while serving as the Chief of Operations on the USS _Dawn Star_.At the time, Drozana was plagued by a series of unusual events, it wasn't until the USS _Constance_ arrived that they discovered the source behind the events, the Devidians had come to Drozana, attracted by the blood that was spilled in the Federation-Klingon War that was raging in the Neutral Zone. Jaie worked with the crew of the _Constance, _delving into the depths of Drozana station in search of answers, bringing them back in time to the last time that a comet had passed by Drozana. Jaie had seen a lot of strange things happen during the Devidian invasion, and she wasn't exactly looking forward to a repeat.

"I'd say we're not dealing with Devidians," Jaie says shaking her head. "The Devidians may be the closest thing to them that Starfleet has encountered, but these creatures are distinctly different from them."

"What do the Pasori have to say about them?" Selva asks.

"There's nothing about them in the files they gave us," Jaie says. "Its most likely that they are unaware of their existence. If only we had some way of communicating with them, we might know more about them."

"_Captain,"_ Elia's voice says as Selva's commbadge beeps.

"Go ahead," Selva says.

"_Coira is on the bridge, she wants to speak with you,"_ Elia says. _"She says that he knows something about the beings."_

"All right, send her in," Selva says, and the doors to her ready room open, and Coira walks in, with a grim look on her face.

"Captain, we need to get out of this area of space as soon as possible," Coira says. "We are all in grave danger."

**00000**

"I should have realized this before," Coira says, they had moved into the conference room with the rest of the senior staff. "Centuries ago, my species the Kestani controlled a large Empire in this region of space, this was before the Pasori and the Nadorians where the major powers in this area of space. We had an enemy called the Rashka, during the final war between our people, we built a terrifying weapon and detonated it in this area of space. We didn't expect its effects however, it forced every planet and star within light years of ground zero out of phase, including the Rashka."

"You're saying that these Rashka are what are plaguing us on the _Chimera_?" Selva asks.

"It was our weapon that created the Eradus Void," Coira says. "The Rashka are a dangerous species, they are probably still angry about what we did to them, and they'll take it out on any species that crosses the Void."

"Doesn't answer one question though," Weok says. "How did the _Chimera_ get here in the first place..."

"We'll probably never know for sure," Selva says. "It reminds me of the old _Defiant_, and the USS _Nazalee_ did find out that it was sent through time..."

"Yeah, but that was sent to an alternate universe, I doubt that we're looking at the same exact phenomenon," Elia says.

"True," Selva says. "But that still doesn't explain the..." Selva starts to say, and then turns to Coira. "What can you tell me about the area of space that the _Chimera_ is in?"

"Uh, let me think..." Coira says, grabbing a PADD. "Well, it looks like this area used to be a rather unusual Nebula."

"Of course, the others on the ship, they must be the surviving crew that where affected by radiation that might still be coming in," Selva says. "Its this area of space, its what's causing all of this. I think that we need to get out of here as soon as possible."

**00000**

Selva sits down in the Captain's chair as the rest of the bridge staff take their positions. "Lieutenant Drash, lower the force field," Selva says, as Elia starts to input commands and the ship turns around to face the entrance.

"Uh, Captain, we've got a problem," Elia says, trying to lower the force field, they should have had control of the force field. "We're being blocked out!"

"Is there anything you can do, Lieutenant?" Selva asks.

"I would have to go out there and manually shut down the force field, and I highly doubt that they'll let us do that," Elia says.

"We are at a tactical disadvantage, they know the ship and its systems better than we do," Eric says. "We're going to have to take out that force field, but how..."

"What about the field emitters, couldn't we take them out?" Waseri asks, and Elia shakes her head.

"I already thought of that," Elia says. "They're heavily shielded, either something that was part of the design of the ship or they where upgraded after they where stranded."

"More likely that they upgraded it to trap people on board..." Selva mutters. "Well, so long as we're stuck here, we're going to have to learn more about the _Chimera," _she says, tapping her commbadge. "Bridge to Engineering."

"_Togri here,"_ Togri says.

"Get the search teams back together, I want access to the central computer of the _Chimera_," Selva commands. "Lieutenant Drash, I want you to lead one team and try and access their engineering deck, shut down all the power on the ship if you have to, but I want out of here!"

"Yes ma'am," Elia says, getting out of the helm chair.

"Lets get this over with..." Selva says quietly.

**00000**

"_Captain's log, supplemental, the crew is reacting much as I expected, but they are Starfleet after all, we will survive this. But how can you fight an enemy that you cannot see until it is on you? I cannot imagine what the crew of the _Chimera _has gone through, even if they have become aggressive, somewhere underneath they are still Starfleet officers, I regret that we have to fight them, but we have to make it home. May history forgive us for the actions we must take, and may the lives lost on the _Chimera_ not have been lost in vain."_

Selva enters the bridge of the _Chimera_, running a hand along the Captain's chair as she looks around at the bridge. "What happened here, why did they become so angry..." she wonders out loud, her ears twitch as she hears a sound behind her, drawing her phaser she turns to see a shadowy apparition of a male behind her. "Who are you?"

"_I am Azerou of the Rashka,"_ Azerou says. _"We have been watching you, Captain Selva of the USS _Helen."

"Why are you plaguing my crew?" Selva asks.

"_Many have come before you seeking out ways to control this ship, we did not know your intentions when you first arrived," _Azerou says. _"And, we where surprised to see that you had a Kestani among your crew."_

"Coira is one of several resistance fighters we brought on the ship after their ship was destroyed by the Nadorians," Selva says. "And what of you, she said that the Rashka where a dangerous species."

"_We made many mistakes in our war with the Kestani,"_ Azerou says. _"And we have had a long time to think about them, your desire to return home to your own Galaxy is something that we understand. The others have agreed to not plague your crew any further."_

"Thank you," Selva says. "What can you tell me about the others?"

"_Only that they where on the ship when we came to it,"_ Azerou says. _"We still do not know where this ship came from."_

"We know a little bit," Selva says, as her commbadge beeps, Azerou vanishes. "This is Selva, what's going on?"

"_Togri here, Captain you might want to come down to Engineering, we've managed to access the central computer," _Togri says on the other end.

"On my way," Selva says, and heads off the bridge.

**00000**

"Well Captain, we've got good news and we've got bad news," Elia says. "The good news is that we've managed to isolate the problem."

"And what's the bad news?" Selva asks.

"That would be where the problem is," Anlai says, showing a display of the interior of the _Chimera_. "Its on deck 23, right in the middle of the area controlled by our friends."

"And of course they won't just let us walk in there," Selva says. "What do we know about this area of the ship?"

"They've erected a field that blocks Transporter signals into this deck," Elia says. "And scanners are also useless, basically we'd be going in blind."

"So, then we can either wait for them to pick us off or risk entering the area of the ship that they control. "Selva says, and taps her commbadge. "Selva to Lieutenant Hernandez."

"_Hernandez here,"_ Erik answers on the other end.

"Gather a group of your best Security officers and meet me in front of the door where we lost Adams," Selva says, grabbing a phaser rifle.

"_Does this mean we're going after the crew?"_ Erik asks.

"The way I see it we don't have much of a choice," Selva says. "Its better than sitting around waiting for them to come after us."

"_I agree, I'll meet you there," _Erik says, deactivating the communication.

"You two keep working, see if you can get us any information on that area of the ship," Selva says to Elia and Anlai before heading out.

"Yes ma'am," Elia says.

**00000**

"Any progress on getting through this door?" Selva asks as she enters the hallway leading up to the door.

"Not yet ma'am, they've sealed it up tight," one of the security officers says, shaking her head. "Unless they open it up, or you brought something with you that will let us... there we go."

The door slides open, and they cautiously step inside. There is a sudden rustling sound, and the lights come on to reveal that they're surrounded by people wearing torn up uniforms and they look like they've been mutated somehow.

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me..." Selva mutters, raising her arms.

**00000**

"_First Officer's log, supplemental, it has been nearly an hour since Captain Selva and the security team entered the door on deck 23 of the _Chimera. _With them not checking in yet, we are starting to get worried about the Captain, I should have been the one to lead that away team, but what's done is done. Now, we have to start thinking of other options to get our people out."_

"Commander, we still haven't had any contact with the security team on Deck 23 of the _Chimera_," Waseri says, looking concerned.

"Is there something interfering with the signal?" Jaie asks.

"No, we just, lost it," Waseri says, shaking her head as the lights flicker on and off. "Any more of this and we'll lose the holoemitters..."

"And we can't have that," Jaie says, and pauses. "I wonder..." She says, and taps her commbadge. "Bridge to Lieutenant Drash..."

"_Lieutenant Drash here,"_ Elia answers.

"Does the _Chimera_ have holoemitters on board?" Jaie asks.

"_Yeah, there are holoemitters running through out the entire ship, what do you have in mind?"_ Elia asks.

"I think we just found a way to get into the area that they control," Jaie says. "Can you access the holoemitters?"

"_Yeah sure, it'll take about an hour for us to get the systems synched up with the _Helen_'s holomatrix, but I think we can handle it,"_ Elia says.

"You have 15 minutes, Lieutenant," Jaie says, and there is a pause on the other end. "Lieutenant?"

"_Yes ma'am, 15 minutes,"_ Elia answers. _"I'll let you know when the holoemitters are synched up, Drash out,"_ she finishes and cuts the communication.

"Are you going to send me to the _Chimera_ then?" Waseri asks, the Elaysian looking a little nervous about the idea of going to a hostile ship alone.

"Don't worry, we won't be sending you alone," Jaie says. "Computer, prepare to upload EMH, EEH, and ECH programs to the _Chimera_'s holomatrix along with the program for Commander Tagai's holocommunicator on my command."

"That works too I suppose," Waseri says.

**00000**

"You very pretty, will bear great strong sons," the leader of the strange band of mutants holding Selva and the other members of the security team. He was examining Selva closely, and the Captain didn't exactly seem to like the way he smelled.

"Apparently the radiation has effected your brain, I told you already that I'm an Athenan," Selva groans, she had hoped that her species inability to bear sons would have gotten him to leave her alone, but he was persistent.

"Radiation good for you, will teach you manners," the leader says, grabbing Selva by the chin and examining her. "Larson enjoy taking the fight out of you."

"Larson apparently needs to visit the sonic shower," Selva says, and the man apparently named Larson raises his hand to hit Selva, only to have it grabbed.

"Larson, leave the woman alone," a sharp female voice says, pushing Larson off of Selva. The Athenan looks up to see a Romulan woman offering her a hand. "I appologize, I am Solok, did he hurt you?"

"No, I'm fine," Selva says, struggling to get up. "How are you..."

"Unaffected? The radiation doesn't seem to affect Romulan and Vulcan physiology, we think its something about our brains," Solok says, helping Selva up. "They fear us because we are still stronger than they are."

"Yes, I..." Selva says, and looks Solok over, noticing that the Romulan is wearing the same tattered Starfleet uniform as the others. "Wait, you're Starfleet?"

"I was Starfleet, we all where," Solok says. "Back before the accident, I was the Chief of Security on the _Chimera_."

"But, how did a... never mind, Temporal Prime Directive," Selva says. "How did the ship get here exactly?" 

"We where assigned to explore the Triangulum Galaxy along with the _Espial Grace_," Solok says, trying to choose her words carefully. "Captain Ares brought us to this area of the Galaxy which hadn't been on charts before. When we entered the Void, we must have encountered an anomaly created by whatever created the Void, and we where sent back to your time."

"That's what we figured," Selva says.

"When we arrived, we couldn't move the ship, our Engineers tried for months to get us back up and running, but our engines never worked again," Solok says. "Then the sickness began overtaking our crew, and they either died or began to devolve into these, mindless animals."

"Look, my crew is trying their best to get us out of here, how many people aren't affected by the radiation?" Selva asks.

"There are ten of us left, less if they jumped us earlier," Solok says. "Does this mean you'd be willing to take us with you?"

"We might have to, we don't leave people behind," Selva says. "We might be from different times, but we're still Starfleet, and that's enough for me."

"Thank you, Captain," Solok says.

**00000**

"All right Commander, we're ready on this end," Togri says, they had finished synchronizing the two holomatrixes in order to get the holographic away team onto the _Chimera_. "Prepare to transfer the systems onto the _Chimera_'s holomatrix."

"_Transferring now,"_ Jaie says.

The holoemitters in the _Chimera_'s engine room spin up as the image of Waseri flickers into view.

"Wow, they really have upgraded in the future haven't they," Waseri says, looking up at the massive warp core.

"Finishing transfer of the Emergency Holographic systems now..." Elia says from her position behind a console. Three more holographic figures appears, the Emergency Command Hologram is a tall figure with black hair tied into a long braid (Elia noted that it was based on Captain Rachel Covaks of the USS _Constance_), the Emergency Engineering Hologram appears as a skinny male with short brown hair and a slight mustache, while the Emergency Medical Hologram was a tanned woman with blonde hair tied into a ponytail.

"Please state the nature of... wait, we're not in Sick Bay," the EMH Says, looking around as if she's trying to figure out exactly where they are.

"Okay, mind explaining to us what's going on?" the ECH asks in Rachel Covaks' Chicago accent.

"We have a mission for the four of you," Elia says, walking forward. "The Captain of the USS _Helen_ has been captured, and we need you to rescue her."

"I am a doctor, not a rescue worker," the EMH says.

"Yeah, isn't there anyone else who can go?" the EEH asks.

"You four are the only team we can get in quickly and not easily detectable," Togri says.

"Listen, the Captain is in danger, we have to rescue her," Waseri says, crossing her arms and looking at the three holograms.

"Fine, we'll go," the ECH says, and the other two nod in agreement. "Transfer us to where you need to go."

"Transferring now," Elia says, and the four holograms vanish. "Good luck."

**00000**

"I am a doctor, why exactly are you having me come along on this adventure?" the EMH hisses to Waseri as she grabs phaser rifles, tossing one to each of the holograms.

"Our crew is being held captive in hostile territory, doesn't it occur to you that they might be injured?" Waseri asks, getting no response from the EMH. "How's that engineering system going?"

"Slowly," the EEH says, working at a console nearby. "These guys are smarter than we thought, they've got massive encryption on the systems that we have to access."

"Keep trying," Waseri says, raising her rifle as she hears movement drawing closer. "Uh, E..."

"Yes?" The EEH asks while continuing to work on the console.

"You might want to step it up a little bit," Waseri says. "We're about to have company."

"Oh sure, put all the pressure on me," the EEH says. "I am a hologram, not a miracle worker you know!"

"Do all Emergency Holograms get annoying personalities?" Waseri asks, as she fires at the advancing mutants with the ECH. "M, buck up and help us out here!"

"All right, fine," the EMH says, and fires at the mutants with her rifle. Their shots hit the first wave, but the second wave falls back and fires at them with phasers. "Dang it, they're armed too?"

"Not helping..." the EEH says.

"Anyone else got any bright ideas?" The ECH asks.

"I'm working on one," Waseri says.

**00000**

Not too far away, Selva and Solok have gathered together the surviving members of the security team along with the unaffected members of the _Chimera_'s crew.

"They're acting strange, where did they all run off to?" Eric asks, wondering out loud why the mutants had left this area of the ship.

"Intruder alert, I believe your crew is making another rescue attempt," a Vulcan officer says.

"But who could they get in that deep into the ship without a transporter or being detected," Solok says.

"Maybe Commander Tagai..." Selva says. "My Second Officer is an Elaysian, she has to use a holographic up-link."

"Oh, I see, they don't control the holographic matrix..." Solok says.

"_Captain... hear... me..."_ a garbled message comes from Selva's commbadge.

"This is Selva, try and clean up the message, I can barely hear you," Selva says, tapping her commbadge.

"_Oh thank goodness Captain, we where getting worried,"_ Elia says on the other end. _"The EEH must have managed to overcome the interference, but we still can't transport you out."_

"We have found friendlies on board the _Chimera_, we need immediate beam out," Selva says.

"_He's still working on it,"_ Elia says. _"Do you have any ideas for how we could buy some time?"_

"Do you still have the holographic up-link to the _Chimera_?" Selva asks.

"_I think so, what are you thinking?" _Elia asks.

"Can you think of any good holonovels that could be uploaded into the system?" Selva asks.

"_I think I have just the one,"_ Elia answers.

**00000**

Back down the hallway, the EEH is still trying to access the transporter dampener as the holoemitters begin to flicker.

"Commander Tagai to Lieutenant Drash, what are you doing over there?" Waseri asks, tapping her commbadge.

"_We're gonna send you some back-up, I recommend backing out of the hall,"_ Elia says.

"Roger that," Waseri says, motioning to the ECH and EMH as they back up to a position closer to the EEH, their phaser rifles still poised at the ready. There is a sudden sound of gunfire as three men dressed as 1930's gangsters appear in the hallway, the unexpected arrival surprises the mutants, and the begin to retreat, not realizing the bullets are just holograms. "Ah, the New York Gangster holonovel, that works."

"This is the EEH, I've accessed the systems for the transporter dampener and the force field, I'm shutting them off now," the EEH says. "Okay, they're down, transfer our programs and transport us out before something else happens."

"_On it,"_ Jaie says, as the holograms vanish as they are transferred back to the ship, at the same time Selva and the others are transported back to the _Helen _as well.

**00000**

"Are we ready to go finally?" Selva asks, sitting down in the Captain's chair as Elia takes the helm.

"Force Field is disengaged, we can move out as soon as you give the order," Elia reports.

"Take us out of here," Selva says.

"_Uh, Captain,"_ Togri's voice says over the commbadge.

"What is it now, Lieutenant?" Selva asks.

"_A bunch of antimatter and dilithium has appeared in our stores,"_ Togri says.

"Azerou..." Selva says with a smile

"_What should we do?" _Togri asks.

"We'll keep them," Selva says, and out of the corner of her eye she see's Azerou, but when she turns he's gone. "Lieutenant Drash, take us out of here and set a course out of the void."

"Yes ma'am, setting course," Elia says as the _Helen_ exits the shuttle bay of the _Chimera_.

"Commander Eroi, you have the bridge," Selva says, and goes into the turbolift.

**00000**

Selva walks into her quarters, sighing as she undoes her jacket, she smiles as she sees Kaiya laying on the couch fast asleep. She walks into the other room and comes back with a blanket and pulls it over the young Athenan's body, she lightly kisses her daughter's cheek.

"Mommy, you're home," Kaiya says sleepily, stirring only briefly. "I knew you'd be back."

"Don't worry Kaiya, I'm just fine," Selva says, smiling. "Where you up this whole time waiting for me?"

"Yep," Kaiya says, yawning. "I must have fallen asleep."

"Its okay, I'm just glad I got to see you again," Selva says, hugging Kaiya. "Come with me, Kaiya, lets go to bed."

"Carry me!" Kaiya says, getting a laugh out of Selva who picks her up and carries her to the other room.

**00000**

_**And that's the end of Chapter 3 of Star Trek: Helen, thank you for reading it, and please review if you have any comments.**_

_**Tune in next time for Chapter 4 as the crew of the **_**Helen****_ continues their voyage home, and they are pointed towards a planet near the edge of Pasori Space that is known for being relaxing. But there is more to this planet than they can see on the surface, read as Star Trek: Helen continues in Chapter 4, "Ruins of the Past."_**


	4. Ruins of the Past

_And here we go with chapter 4._

_This first season of the fanfic features the Iconians, one of the least understood species in Star Trek because they where wiped out so long ago. While there are different interpretations of who they are, I have chosen to take the best of both, including the dark evil version of them in Star Trek Online and the more beneficial version of them some people choose to use._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek, wish I did because then we'd ACTUALLY GET A BLOODY TV SHOW! Oh, and I also don't own the character Nioi, or other elements of a complicated side-story that will start here. Or for that matter Star Trek: Odyssey, which is referenced here along with other productions by Hidden Frontier._

**00000**

**0000000000**

**CHAPTER 4:**

**RUINS OF THE PAST**

**0000000000**

"_As we delved deeper into the ruins of the past,_

_The mystery began to deepen and yet became clear."_

**0000000000**

**00000**

"_Helm officer's personal log, stardate 91628.47. As things have been going slowly lately, I have taken the opportunity to pay a visit to the holodeck. As not only a pilot but an Engineer, I have always found the study of the early 20th century Earth inventors fascinating. In particular, I am visiting the lab of one of the more, interesting inventors of this time period."_

Elia glances around, she was dressed in an outfit appropriate for the early 20th century America, she was inside a building in New York that seemed to be showing its age. She places a hand on the wall, feeling a slight vibration and smiles, she was in the right place. She knocks on the door to one of the rooms, the vibration stops as the door is answered by a man with short black hair and a mustache.

"I do not have time for visitors right now, leave," he says in an accent that is distinctly Eastern European.

"Mr. Tesla, my name is Ellen Draila, I've been interested in your work for awhile now," Elia says, using a fake name she was using for the holonovel. The holonovel was based on Nikola Tesla's Houston street lab in New York City. "I don't want to intrude, but I'm not just here to visit."

"If you are looking for a job, I am not hiring Ms. Draila," Tesla says, and starts to back away from the door. "Try Edison, maybe he'll hire you."

"I don't want to work for Edison, Mr. Tesla I can help you," Elia says, which stops the inventor in his tracks. "You're working on a functioning oscillator, aren't you?"

"How did you know?" Tesla asks.

"Your walls are vibrating, its kind of obvious," Elia says, holding up a case that probably contains various materials. "I brought my own materials."

"All right, fine, come on in," Tesla says, ushering Elia in as she removes her coat. "So, why come to me, Ms. Draila?"

"Your work with Alternating Current among other things," Elia says. "I saw your work at the Chicago World's Fair and..."

"_Bridge to Lieutenant Drash,"_ Jaie's voice is heard.

"Computer pause program," Elia says, tapping her commbadge. "Lieutenant Drash here."

"_We're coming up on a system, the Captain thought you might be interested,"_ Jaie says.

"All right, I'm on my way," Elia says, glancing around the lab. "Computer, save and end program," she says, and the holodeck shuts off around her before she heads out.

**00000**

Elia steps off of the turbolift and onto the bridge, the stand-in helm officer gets up and she takes her seat as they approach the system in question.

"What are we picking up on scanners?" Selva asks.

"Its mostly water by the looks of it, but there is a land mass along the equator," Weok reports. "I'm picking up lots of life forms, varying species, it looks almost like Risa down there."

"A pleasure planet maybe?" Selva asks.

"That would be my guess," Weok answers.

"Captain, we're being hailed by the planet," Eric says.

"Put it on screen," Selva says, and the image of a Pasori female appears on the screen. "I am Captain Selva of the Federation Starship..."

"_Yes, we have heard of the _Helen_ and its voyage home, I am Lami, the director of the resort facility on Jin'ta," _Lami says. _"Please, we would be honored if you and your crew where to partake in our facilities."_

"Captain, after what happened on the _Chimera_, I'm sure the crew would appreciate some shore leave," Jaie says.

"And plus it would give Engineering time to make sure all of our systems are still working," Elia says, shrugging.

"Come on Elia, you and Anlai should get some time together," Selva says with a laugh, getting a blush out of the Bajoran. "Okay, all joking aside we'll put together a schedule for shore leave, thank you Director."

"_We look forward to entertaining your crew, Captain," _Lami says, cutting the communication.

**00000**

"_Helm officer's personal log, supplemental. More on the insistence of Captain Selva than anything else, me and Anlai are going to head down to Jin'ta to spend some time together while we still have the chance to enjoy our shore leave. The Captain says she'll be joining us later, but in the meantime we're going down with Commander Eroi."_

"So Commander, where are you going first?" Elia asks as they get situated inside the cockpit of the Runabout _Toba._

"Well, the information they sent us mentioned some ruins on the northern edge of the continent, so some of us are heading up that way," Jaie says as Elia eases the _Toba_ out of its mooring and through the opening for the shuttle bay. "And what about you two, the beach?"

"Pretty much," Anlai says with a shrug. "Elia wants to check out the diving they have off the coast."

"You dive, Lieutenant?" Jaie asks.

"On occasion, I'm mostly interested in some shipwrecks they have in the area," Elia says. "Seems the area we're going to used to be a big trading port before it was converted to a resort, and it attracted pirates."

"So, you're diving for gold then?" Jaie asks.

"You never know," Elia says with a shrug.

**00000**

"Welcome to Jin'ta, ladies," a male alien with a deep tan and spikes running along his head and back says, greeting Elia and Anlai as they arrive at the main resort area. "I am Peros, I will be your tour guide while you are here with us."

"Thank you, Peros," Elia says, blushing a little as the guide kisses her hand. "I'm Elia, and this is my fiance Anlai."

"Oh, a thousand apologies, I didn't know that you two..." Peros says.

"Its all right, don't worry about it," Elia says with a shrug, glancing down at her bag. "Uh, is there somewhere we can get changed?"

"Yeah, sure, down the beach from here," Peros says, and leads the two down the beach. "So, I'm not familiar with your species, where are you from?"

"That's, complicated, we're from a very long way away," Anlai says. "I'm a Trill and Elia here is a Bajoran, we're from another galaxy."

"Oh, all right," Peros says with a shrug as they reach a set of changing rooms and Elia and Anlai enter their separate rooms.

Inside her's, Elia is surprised to find it occupied by a strange woman with white and purple skin with a bushy tail with a white stripe along it.

"Lieutenant Drash Elia?" the strange woman says.

"Uh, yes, who are you?" Elia asks.

"My name is Nioi, I want your help with something, Elia," Nioi says.

"Okay, but what do you..." Elia starts to say, but is quickly interrupted.

"Beep!" Nioi says, poking Elia's nose before vanishing, leaving Elia looking perplexed as to what just happened.

"What am I, a beagle?" Elia wonders and shrugs, moving to get changed.

**00000**

"_First Officer's log, supplemental, we have arrived at our destination on Jin'ta and are beginning to investigate the ruins. Our guide tells us that not very much is actually known about them because their architecture doesn't match any other known buildings on the planet, and the fact that they are partially underwater makes completely exploring them difficult."_

At the same time Elia is getting her nose beeped, on the northern side of the continent Jaie is examining a ruined structure along with Louis Rodrick, the ship's lead archeologist and linguist to try and learn more about the ruins that had been left on the planet.

"There's something familiar about this architecture, but I can't place my finger on it," Jaie says, placing a hand on the wall. "Tarao, have they ever been able to access the interior of the structure?"

"No, we think the answer might be in the inscriptions, but no one's ever been able to decipher them," Tarao, a Pasori male says. He was the leader of the team studying the ruins, and was helping Jaie and Louis study them. "We've compared it to texts on other planets, but the closest we've ever been able to find is the..."

"Account of Darshus the Wise, Commander, this language is a derivative of Iconian," Louis says. "I'm attempting to translate it, but this is like no other language I've ever seen, its possible that other survivors holed up here."

"Got it," Jaie says, tapping her commbadge. "Commander Eroi to the Captain."

"_Selva here," _Selva answers.

"Captain, you might want to come down here and see this, I think we found an Iconian outpost on the northern end of the continent," Jaie reports.

"_Iconians again?"_ Selva asks. _"How recent are we talking about?"_

"Captain, based on the language difference, we're talking about Iconians that survived the attack by those that came following the bombardment," Louis says. "If we can get it open, we might be able to get more answers about the Iconian presence in the Triangulum Galaxy."

"_All right crewman, see if you can get it open, I'm gonna head down on the next transport, I want to know if there are any developments,"_ Selva says.

"Yes ma'am, we'll let you know," Jaie says.

"All right, lets start with these glyphs here..." Louis says, pointing to a line of glyphs as he begins to attempt to translate them.

**00000**

Elia steps out of her changing room, blushing a little bit because of the gold bikini she's wearing only partially covers up her body. Anlai is already waiting for her with Peros, looking a little perplexed at Elia.

"You where in there awhile Elia, is everything okay?" Anlai asks.

"Everything's fine, I'm sorry," Elia says, rubbing her nose a little. "Peros, is there a guest at the resort named Nioi? Kinda purplish-pinkish, big tail..."

"Can't say I've seen anyone that looks like that," Peros says with a shrug. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason, come on lets hit the beach!" Elia says, grabbing Anlai's arm and the two run off laughing.

Nioi is watching the two of them run off from on top of a tower nearby, smiling a little to herself. _You enjoy yourself Elia, the answers you seek will come soon enough,_ she thinks to herself. She glances down to her watch, which begins to beep and presses a button, bringing up a projected image of a man with long purple hair. "Lord Tedd, I was just finishing my business here."

"_Return to our universe, Nioi, your outings are becoming tiresome to myself and the General,"_ Lord Tedd says.

"I'm on my way," Nioi says, and inputs a command into the watch and vanishes again.

**00000**

"Commander, I might have something," Louis says, speaking up after 20 minutes of working on the ruins. "I think that we're looking at a logic puzzle, these symbols here didn't make any sense to me until I realized..."

"That they are numbers," Jaie says with a laugh. "I'm starting to get the picture, this was put here in order to test the inhabitants of the planet. At some point when they've become advanced enough, they'd be able to access whatever lies beyond."

"But the native inhabitants of this planet were wiped out thousands of years ago," Tarao says.

"Yes, but I think we can still decipher it," Louis says, tapping data into his PADD. "I've got it, its 3.14."

"Pi?" Selva asks, having finally arrived. "Its a cryptic message that just tells us Pi?"

"Yes, but Pi is never ending, the representation of a perfect circle, infinity," Jaie says. "Mathematics used to be considered a universal language, perhaps the Iconians felt that we'd be able to figure it out more easily."

"Do you know what we have to do to get it open then?" Selva asks.

"I'm not exactly sure Louis says, placing his hands on the wall under the symbols in question. "It says something along the lines of, seek your answers below the word, and the path shall be opened."

"Maybe..." Selva says, and places a hand on the symbols representing Pi. "These symbols are loose..." she says, and pulls them off one by one. "Lieutenant Rodrick, you might want to have a look at this."

"What do you... Oh..." Louis says, looking surprised when they find more symbols beneath it. "Yes, this explains a lot... let me try this..." he says, and then says something in a language none of them understand and it isn't translated by the universal translator, then the door slides open.

"What did you..." Selva starts to say.

"I said Open, in Iconian," Louis says with a shrug. "Apparently the Iconians have a sense of humor."

"All right, lets check it out then," Selva says, and they step through the doorway into the chamber beyond.

**00000**

"You're still aboard?" Waseri asks Eric as she enters Ten-Forward, the place was pretty empty without Elia running the bar and with people on the planet.

"I never was comfortable relaxing," Eric says. "I'm guessing they don't have holoemitters on Jin'ta?"

"They do actually, but my holocommunicator doesn't really work well with non-Starfleet emitters," Waseri says, taking a seat. "So, I hear the Captain has found something interesting on the planet."

"Yes, an Iconian structure on the planet," Eric says. "Its bizarre really, friendly Iconians."

"Well we can't assume based on our limited experiences with Iconians in the Milky Way that they are all evil," Waseri says. "Its actually quite refreshing, the Iconians where a virtual mystery for years, but with this, we've been learning more about them than we even thought possible."

"Yes, we shouldn't always assume things about other species," Solok says, the Romulan is wearing a much more casual outfit because she's not really in Starfleet in this time period.

"What do we even really know about the Iconians," Eric says.

"Well, we know that they where pushed out of the galaxy originally by the Grey," Waseri says, that gives the officers chills. The Grey had been silent for years, but they where still prevalent in the minds of Starfleet Officers. "From the reports the _Constance_ brought back from their mission that restored Romulus, they also have been starting to mess with members of the Romulan Star Empire."

"And apparently they had a presence in the Triangulum Galaxy," Eric says. "I guess we don't really know all that much other than their gateway technology."

"Yeah, well they are certainly a threat," Waseri says. "You know, being out here, makes me think of the ships that have gone out like this, you know,_ Voyager _and _Odyssey_."

"Ah yes, _Odyssey_, nearly forgot about her," Solok says. "The first ship to explore the Andromeda Galaxy."

"Needless to say, I wouldn't mind that slipstream drive right about now," Waseri says. "You'd think that a ship built to go to other Galaxies would have one."

"Yes, well its mostly reserved for ships going to Andromeda to continue relations with the Archeins and the Kelvans," Eric says. "Last I heard the Kelvans have regained their government, at least things are improving over there."

"Yeah, well maybe one of these days Starfleet probably should establish a permanent base there," Waseri says, getting a light chuckle from Solok. "What's so funny?"

"Can't tell you," Solok says. "You know, Temporal Prime Directive."

"Oh come on, you can tell me, I won't tell anyone," Waseri says, and Solok shakes her head.

"Nope, can't tell you," she says.

"Darn it!" Waseri says with a groan.

**00000**

Back on the beach, Elia is trying to coax T'lul out of the changing rooms.

"Come on T'lul, you lost the bet fair and square," Elia says, tapping her feet. "You agreed you'd visit the beach in a bikini if I could beat you at Poker. Don't tell me that the unemotional Vulcan is embarassed to be seen in a bikini."

"I'm not embarassed, I just don't see the logic in wearing something that, barely covers my body," T'lul says.

"Because it makes you look good, come on out," Elia says as Anlai comes up beside her. "She's definitely embarassed."

"Vulcans," Anlai says rolling her eyes.

"All right, I am coming out," T'lul says, exiting the changing area, wearing a green bikini. "Are you happy, Lieutenant?"

"Very, come on lets hit the beach," Elia says, laughing. The three women are getting stares from the males on the beach and even some of the females. "Look at it this way, you're a xenobiologist right?"

"Correct," T'lul says.

"Well then think of this as an opportunity to observe other species," Elia says.

"I suppose so," T'lul says, and wanders down the beach.

"That woman has no idea how to relax," Anlai says. "How'd you beat her at poker anyway?"

"Poker face was good, but she just doesn't know how to bluff," Elia says with a laugh, rubbing some sunblock on Anlai's back. "Folded on the bad hands, put in too much chips on the good hands, Vulcans are too logical to play poker if you ask me."

"Mmm, ain't that the truth," Anlai says.

**00000**

"_Captain's log supplemental, we have reached the inner chamber of the Iconian structure, I can't help but be reminded of the stories from Earth of the pyramids and the tombs that they contained. I wonder what the Iconians have hidden away here, and what is protecting their secrets from those that wish to steal them..."_

"Captain, any idea what we're looking at here?" Louis asks, looking at the Iconian script that is on the walls of the inner chamber. "This not only is in Iconian, its in other written languages native to this area of the Triangulum galaxy, its basically a Triangulum version of the Rosetta Stone."

"But why is it here, and what purpose does it serve," Jaie says, examining the language. "And here's something else, its repetitive, the same lines of text over and over again."

"Ensign, do you have anything?" Selva asks.

"Astrometrics is going to want to see this, I think this is coordinates," Louis says, continuing to scan the walls. "Or at least part of some coordinates."

"I'll have them sent up to the _Helen_ right away," Selva says, glancing around the chamber. "This seems too easy, much too simple for an Iconian structure. I wonder what is going on here, why is it this simple..."

"_Ensign Jovan to Captain Selva," _the voice of the science officer up in astrometrics sounds over Selva's commbadge.

"Selva here, go ahead Ensign," Selva says, tapping her commbadge.

"_Well I've run the coordinates, they're incomplete, but I've managed to figure out so far that they're somewhere in the Vasteck Expanse," _Jovan reports.

"I see, thank you Ensign," Selva says, and cuts the communication. "So then, this place must be part of a clue towards the first part of the path to Tomek Dai."

"So then, we're on the right track," Jaie says. "But he said that this was only part of the coordinates, where could the other part be?"

"These symbol indicates that there is another chamber," Louis points out. "Only thing is that its closer to the coast, and it seems to be underwater."

"Underwater, huh?" Selva says, and taps her commbadge. "Captain Selva to Lieutenant Drash, I have a mission for you."

"_I'm listening Captain,"_ Elia answers.

**00000**

"_Helm officer's personal log, following the request from Captain Selva I have gone to the diving facility on Jin'ta in order to get ready. But at the same time, Anlai has requested to come along with me."_

"Anlai, are you sure? I mean I've been diving for years, and I've never worked with equipment like this," Elia says, examining the equipment that they where being suited up in. The equipment resembled more of a bubble that would fit around the user's head, along with a device that extracted oxygen from the water.

"Its fine Elia, they said its just like normal swimming, besides if I need anything you'll be there with me," Anlai says with a laugh. They where on a boat heading to the area that Selva had directed them towards where the second chamber was that housed the ancient Iconian texts that may have the second half of the coordinates.

"Go figure, we come here to relax and we get sent on a mission," Elia says shaking her head. "Well, at least the water is supposed to be nice."

"What do you think we should expect down there?" Anlai asks.

"If its anything like the other planets I've dived on, we'll be looking at what's in essence a cave dive once we reach the structure," Elia says. "Basically we're gonna have to look out for anything that might obstruct our trip such as rockfalls, not to mention anything actually living in there."

"And the structure itself?" Anlai asks.

"Well, it'll probably be submerged, which is why we have these lights," Elia says, raising a light source that was strapped to her wrist. "Okay, if you see anything just let me know, especially if its a very large shark."

"Oh, we don't have those over here, the Squid scared them away," the dive master says with a chuckle, getting a weird look from both women. "Don't people in your galaxy have a sense of humor?"

"Uh yeah," Anlai says.

"Anyway, you're right above where you need to dive, but I've been diving here for years, never found anything like you described," the dive master says. "All right ladies, you know the drill, I'll be with you the whole time, just breathe normally like you where on dry land."

"Okay, got it," Elia says and Anlai nods as they get up on the side of the boat followed by the dive master, and fall backwards into the water.

**00000**

As the three dive deeper, they quickly come across a large seamount covered in coral, heading towards the summit of it Elia examines it for any sign of a structure.

"Well this is the spot," she says. "But where's the structure, just a moment..." Elia says, and reaches into her suit and removes a commbadge and presses it, setting it in a special slot in her apparatus. "Captain, this is Lieutenant Drash, do you read me?"

"_I read you Lieutenant, what's the situation?"_ Selva asks.

"Well, we've reached the location that you sent us to, but there's no structure here," Elia reports, then takes a closer look at the coral. "Excuse me Captain, I need to ask about something.

"_Uh, all right lieutenant, report in when you have something,"_ Selva says.

Elia swims down to the dive master which was investigating the lower part of the seamount with Anlai.

"Excuse me, about how much does the coral here grow in a year?" Elia asks.

"Uh, I don't know, 3 or 4 inches I think," he answers.

"This coral is too short then," Elia says. "This mount's much older, why would there only be a few years of coral on it?"

"Ecological disaster?" Anlai suggests.

"Maybe, or maybe..." Elia says, and reaches forward into the coral, and her hand goes right through it, then part of it shuts off revealing an opening. "Its a hologram!"

"I think we found your structure," the Dive master says.

"Drash to Captain Selva," Elia says, tapping the commbadge again. "We have found the structure, going to investigate."

**00000**

"They found it?" Jaie asks, looking at Selva. The two of them where relaxing on the beach, waiting for an answer from Elia and Anlai.

"Yeah, hidden as a seamount buried in coral off the coast," Selva says with a light chuckle. "Those Iconians, they're a smart bunch."

"Yeah, they are," Jaie says, looking out at the water, brushing her blonde hair back a little. "Captain, I'm a little curious, I don't know much about your species, what can you tell me?"

"Well, I can give you the short version," Selva says, laying her book down, she smiles as she watches Kaiya play in the water. "We used to be among those that Marched Under Raptor's Wings, then at some point during the exodus from Vulcan, my ancestors broke off from the others and settled on what is now our homeworld of Athena."

"So, then how did you become, you know, all female?" Jaie asks.

"The Athenan Plague," Selva says shaking her head. "It wiped out all of our males and made us incapable of having male children, until we made contact with the Federation, we had to resort to kidnapping or seducing males of other species. We aren't exactly proud of what we had to do, but we had to survive."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know," Jaie says.

"Its not that we hide our past, we teach our daughters everything, and we keep nothing hidden from the Federation," Selva says. "If we don't learn from the past, we are doomed to repeat it."

"Beautiful and a philosopher," Jaie says with a chuckle, getting a blush out of Selva. "Sorry Captain, that was Venir surfacing briefly there, fancied himself a bit of a ladies man."

"Venir? That was what, your first host?" Selva asks, and Jaie nods, Selva chuckles a little. "200 years ago I'm guessing, an ancestor of mine found herself on a station, came across a Trill, and, well..."

"Wait, you mean Erila?" Jaie asks, and laughs. "Yeah, I remember her, Venir thought she was a Vulcan on her Pon Farr or something, never would have guessed."

"Small universe I guess," Selva says.

**00000**

Back in the structure, Elia see's a pillar of light and swims towards it, so far they hadn't seen anything yet, but this was their first sign of anything. She enters it and surfaces in a large round chamber, she ducks her head back underwater to call to Anlai and the Dive Master. "Hey, we've got dry ground up here," she says, and climbs out of the water, removing her globe as the other two follow her.

"How is this possible?" Anlai asks as they look up at the dome above them, despite the hologram outside, they can see clearly out into the water as fish dart across the dome. "The Iconians must have used some sort of power source that lasts a long time, I'm guessing geothermal."

"Look at this writing..." Elia says, moving up close to the wall, she blinks as the lettering seems to change from Iconian to something else, something familiar to her. "That's strange."

"What is?" Anlai asks, walking up closer to Elia.

"This text here, its in Bajoran," Elia says, running her hands along the text.

"That can't be right, I'm seeing it as Trill," Anlai says, and the two women exchange glances. "Wait a minute, I think I've heard of this before."

"What do you mean?" Elia asks.

"Well two years ago the USS _Apache _came across an Iconian settlement along the Romulan Neutral Zone," Anlai says. "There was references in it to something they called Mind Language, literally a language that can read as the language of whoever is reading it."

"Okay, so lets see here then," Elia says, and begins reading it aloud. "Beyond the barrier lies the gate to the secrets of Zeros. If you seek the path, you must face that which you most fear, and bring forth the crystal of enlightenment," she reads, and then goes over the rest. "All right, we've got the coordinates we needed, lets get this back to the ship."

"Okay, got it," Anlai says, and they nod to the Dive Master, and after taking the readings they need, re-enter the water.

**00000**

"All right, we've managed to figure out exactly where the coordinates lead to," Weok says, and a map of space is brought up on the screen, they where in the conference lounge at the time. "Its close to the center of the Vasteck Expanse, but our sensors aren't able to pick up anything beyond the thermobaric layer."

"Zeros," Elia says, leaning forward. "Whatever it is, its got to be the key to the next clue."

"Might be a planet, or a space station," Selva says, moving up and looking closer at the map. "So then I guess there's no avoiding it, we're going into the Vasteck Expanse."

"I've talked with people in the Pasori government, the Expanse is difficult to transverse under normal circumstances," Waseri says shaking her head. "Seems that every 2000 years, the Expanse goes through a period of increased activity, they're not really sure why."

"And let me guess, we're coming up on the 2000 year mark," Selva says, and Waseri nods her head. "Great, just what we needed, another problem to confound our travels, how long would it take to go around the Expanse?"

"It would add months, maybe even years to our trip," Elia says. "Not to mention the fact that we'd be passing through Nadorian territory."

"As much as I hate to admit it, I'm not sure if we could survive all the encounters we'd have with the Nadorians," Eric says. "We only have a finite amount of power and torpedoes, we might have to take the risk and travel through the Expanse."

"All right, then its settled, Lieutenant Drash work with astrometrics to plot the safest route through the Expanse," Selva says. "I want to avoid any problems we might have, but we also should investigate these coordinates, see if they might provide answers."

"Yes ma'am," Elia says.

"All right everyone, we have a lot of work ahead of us, you're dismissed," Selva says, and the senior staff make their way out of the conference lounge.

Selva looks out at the stars flying by the ship, sighing a little to herself. _We've almost left Pasori space, and beyond that is the great unknown of the Triangulum Galaxy,_ she thinks to herself. _Am I putting too much on the crew by expecting them to go through all of this? I guess since we're Starfleet, we'll make it through somehow, but at what cost?_

She sighs and leaves the conference lounge.

**00000**

Just across the Pasori border, lying in wait in a Nebula is the Nadorian vessel _Libron_, a vessel of Mazeck Ta Bor, the Nadorian Intelligence Agency. The _Libron_ was smaller than the Nadorian warships, constructed for surveillance instead of war, and was ordered to trail the _Helen_ by the Commander of Mazeck Ta Bor.

"Sartek Vermnin, I'm picking up a ship approaching the Pasori border," the ship's sensor operator reports, turning to look at a Nadorian woman wearing the black uniform of a Sartek who is leaning against her armrest.

"What is the ship, officer?" Vermnin asks, looking hard at the sensor operator.

"I'm reading it as our quarry, its the _Helen_ milady," the operator says, he was nervous, Vermnin had a reputation among Mazeck Ta Bor as being one of the most brutal of their Sarteks. Rumor was that she had only been made Sartek after assassinating her predecessor, and had the ear of the commander of the intelligence agency.

"Excellent, put it on screen," Vermnin says, and the image of the _Helen _appears on the bridge's viewscreen. "So this is the ship that Hardock wants so badly, it doesn't look like much."

"What are our orders, milady? Should we send word to Admiral Hardock that we've found the _Helen_?" The communications officer asks.

"Negative, this is a Mazeck Ta Bor operation, once the ship is close enough, engage the cloak and follow them," Vermnin says. "If they can find Tomek Dai like Hardock claims, then it will be us, not those incompetent fools in the Alliance Fleet that finds it. Long live the Nadorian Alliance!"

"Long live the Nadorian Alliance!" The rest of the crew repeats.

**00000**

Back on the _Helen_, the crew has settled down for the evening, Elia yawns a little as she steps out of her bathroom wearing her nightgown. She yawns and lays down, wrapping her arms around Anlai and plants a light kiss on her fiance's cheek.

"Finally decided to come to bed, huh?" Anlai asks with a giggle.

"Sorry, you know how the Captain is, she wants us to get through that Expanse without blowing up," Elia says. "You know, I really think we should take Selva up on her offer to marry us."

"I thought you wanted to wait and have Captain Seto do it," Anlai says, referring to their old CO on the USS _Challenger_, Erika Seto.

"I know, but, we don't know if we're ever going to make it home again, I just don't think we should wait much longer," Elia says.

"All right, we can talk to the Captain about this tomorrow, you need to get some sleep," Anlai says with a slight giggle and gives Elia a kiss. "Sleep well, Elia."

Elia smiles and starts to fall asleep.

**00000**

"Elia, come on, you'll be late for school!" A familiar voice rings in Elia's ears as she jumps out of bed, she's 5 years old again, and looks around at unfamiliar surroundings. She's in a home, looking out the window she can see a town beyond it.

_I'm on Earth, but how..._ she thinks to herself, and slowly comes to the realization that she's dreaming.

"Elia, come on!" The voice says, again, and Elia finally looks to see a Bajoran woman with long red hair looking at her. "You don't want to be late for your first day do you?"

"Coming mommy!" Elia says, she wasn't really in control, she was more watching the events play out as she jumps out of bed and gets ready before heading out to take the transporter to school.

**00000**

Elia looks around at the other kids, school didn't start until 0800, which wasn't for another 15 minutes so a lot of them where just hanging out. Elia looks nervously around, she hadn't ever been to a normal elementary school before, she had received all her education from her mother while they where on the run from the Cardassians. She tries to take a seat away from the others, but her arm is grabbed, and she turns to see a girl her age with brown hair tied into pigtails.

"Hey, why don't you come sit with us?" She asks, giving Elia a smile and motioning over towards another girl that reminded her a little of Nioi, only more pink. "Come on, there's no point in you sitting all by yourself."

"Uh, okay," Elia says, and is pulled over to the other girl, she starts to build her confidence more. "Hi, I'm Drash Elia."

"Kaoli, nice to meet you!" Kaoli says, shaking Elia's hand with a smile.

"And I'm Ellen Dunkel!" Ellen says, with a smile. "I think we're going to be good friends, Elia."

Elia blinks a little, and then smiles back.

The rest of the dream is pretty ordinary, Elia meets her teacher Mrs. Luna, a kind Betazoid woman, and found out that the town was named Moperville. The day is pretty uneventful up until recess when Ellen finds a boy named Tedd and gets him to help them play kickball.

**00000**

Elia blinks as she wakes up the next morning, the dream had felt so real, and she still remembered it. It was more like a, well a memory than a dream itself, and she wondered what it all meant.

**00000**

_**And that's Chapter 4 of Star Trek: Helen, the mysteries have deepened as they start to uncover more of the path to Tomek Dai. And at the same time, Elia begins to have strange dreams, but what do they mean?**_

_**Next Chapter, the USS **_**Helen****_ visits an area of space previously visited by a Starfleet vessel, and is faced with a choice that they must make. What is that choice? What will they do? And who else will appear? Find out in Chapter 5, "Quandary."_**


End file.
